Baby mine
by Tourmaline20
Summary: Scott is doing well in Mount Horizon, but a sudden twist of fate will change his life forever moderate AU.
1. Good and bad news

Higher ground and all its characters are the property of ABC family I'm just using them.

Baby mine

Picks up close to where the series left (I still don't know if I've seen all the episode) Scott's father has left Elaine but what about the baby she is carrying? This story is somewhat AU, just so everyone's on the same page Scott has been in Horizon for about eight months.

Peter sat down as the Cliff hangers took their places for group, once everyone was seated he asked, "All right who wants to start?" Scott raised a hand, "I will." Everyone gasped, Scott never went first in group usually it was Juliette, or Kat, sometimes Ezra if he was in a good mood, but never Scott this was a good sign. Peter bit back a grin as he said, "all right Scott." Scott sighed and sat up this was something he was actually excited about, "Well as you all know my Dad left Elaine, and all I can say is thank goodness. But, Elaine is pregnant and my dad is suing her for custody. The good part is I will get to testify." Shelby said, "Wait I thought CPS said there wasn't enough evidence to prove what Elaine did?" Scott nodded, "Yeah they did, but I can testify to what happened to bring Elaine's competence as a parent into question. Now a family court judge might decide that in a custody case the acusations alone could be enough, they might not be but at least I have a chance at my day in court."

Oggie grinned, "Well that's good news." Jules asked, "Are you scared?" Scott shrugged, "Yes and no, I want to tell people what she did but at the same time I never want to see her again. The thing I'm most afraid of is if Dad looses the case, I don't want _her_ to raise my little brother or sister or be allowed within 50ft of the baby." Peter nodded, "So you're afraid that Elaine will continue the pattern of abuse?" Scott bit his lip, "a little, I mean I know there is no excuse for what she did, but I was her step-son we weren't related, related you know? And I don't know if she'd actually do that to her own kid."

Peter sighed he wished that were true, but he knew it wasn't and Scott deserved the truth, "Scott, people like Elaine usually don't stop their behavior until someone else stops them." Scott nodded, "I know I just kind of hoped you know?" Peter nodded, "I know." After giving Scott a few more minutes Peter moved on through group. Scott seemed to be recovering fairly well, he still had a long way to go, but he was definitely on the right path. Little did any of them know that the events of the next few days were going to change everything.

Peter was sitting behind his desk going through the papers for students who would be leaving this year; he couldn't help feeling a small rush of pride at the number of kids who had been helped by Horizon and its work. Peter put down the folder for Nicholas Jefreys and was reaching for the next one when the phone rang Peter answered, "mount Horizon Peter Scarbrow speaking. Oh, Mr. Barringer hello. What? When?" Peter's face broke into a smile at the answer, "Well congratulations is it boy or a girl?" Suddenly his face paled and he looked truly appalled, "What? Are they sure? Oh no, I am so sorry, yes, yes of course he'll be right here. Mr. Barringer I would like to assure you that we will do everything possible to help Scott get through this." Peter put the phone on hold and, pushed the button for his secretary muttering, "Damn it, why now he's been doing so well and now this hadn't the kids been through enough all ready. Hello Mary would you get Scott Barringer here immediately."

Mary nodded as she asked, "Are you all right? You look like you've just seen a ghost." Peter swallowed hard, "let's just say it's going to be a very long day now can you get Scott please?" Mary nodded and headed to Mr. Claypool's class.

HG

Scott was just finishing with the short quiz Claypool had given them on the reading from last night and handed it in when Peter's secretary Mary came in, "I'm sorry to interrupt Mr. Claypool, but Scott Barringer needs to come with me immediately." Scott's heart instantly jumped into his throat, was something wrong? Was his dad or mom hurt? Mr. Claypool gestured to Scott and he stood without thinking Shelby squeezed his hand in comfort before he left and Scott gave her a grateful smile and followed Marry out. It didn't take them long to get back to Peter's office and when they arrived Scott asked, "What's going on?

"Scott?" Scott jumped as his Dad's voice came from the phone on Peter's desk, Scott felt stupid for not realizing it was set on speaker. Scott sat down and ask, "yeah Dad?" Martin said, "We need to talk." Scott gulped, no conversation ever ended well when it started with, 'we need to talk' Scott looked to Peter who stood and walked around the desk so he was standing next to the troubled young man he'd become so close to, "Scott you're father has something to tell you and it's not going to be easy to hear, just remember we're all here for you."

Scott felt his stomach drop," What is it what's wrong?" Martin sighed over the phone, "Scott, I wish to God I could do this in person, but I'm afraid it can't wait Elaine went into labor early this morning and she gave birth to a healthy eight pound baby boy." Scott grinned, he was an older brother!, "That's great! I don't see any problem congratulations Dad." Martin swallowed hard, "Scott you don't understand, the family court judge ordered a DNA test for the baby and the baby isn't mine."

Scott nearly fainted not only had Elaine been sneaking into his bedroom on a regular basis, but she'd also been cheating! Who the hell does that? Scott shook his head, "Dad, I'm sorry do they know…?" Before Scott could finish Martin said, "Yes Scott the baby Elaine had isn't my child, but he is yours."

A/n bum, bum, bum cliffie so what do you think? I'm a little unsure about this story which is why I left it here.


	2. what now?

What happens now

What happens now?

Scott sat there for a moment too shocked to speak, finally he managed to chock out, "What? How? That's not possible it's just not." Martin spoke, "Scott I know this must be hard for you, but the hospital checked the test results four times to make sure there is no doubt Elaine's baby is your son." Scott stood he was feeling so many different things at once he thought he would explode he was shocked, angry, happy, upset, confused, and in denial all at once. Scott shook his head violently, "no there's no way there's no way because Elaine used protection so it's not possible."

Peter decided to intervene, "Scott do you know for a fact that Elaine used birth control, did you actually see her use it every single time?" Scott thought about it for a moment then shook his head, "No I didn't it's just this one time when Elaine first started coming into my room. I didn't want to do that with her and I said something like, 'we shouldn't be doing this because you could get pregnant' and she said not to worry that it wouldn't happen so I just assumed….."Scott trailed off as he ran a hand through his hair, "But I never really saw her use anything."

Sophie piped up, "Then she probably didn't and even if she did you know what they say nothings guaranteed even medical procedures don't always work." Scott nodded, "I know I just how can this be happening how can I have a kid? I can't take care a of a kid hell at this point I can't even take care of myself I'm a drug addict!" Scott didn't know when he'd started crying, but he realized his face was wet when Peter pulled Scott into his arms. Martin said, "Scott I am so sorry I wish there was something I could do to take this pain away from you, but I can't and I'm sorry I can't be there right now. You should know the reason I've called is because this 'development' has changed things."

Scott nodded as he pulled away from Peter and said sarcastically, "yeah now they have to believe me." There was a long pause and Scott felt his stomach drop when Martin spoke again his voice sounded nervous, "not exactly, Elaine is being charged with statutory rape, but she is claiming you were the one who attacked her." Scott was going to faint he knew it, "What? You're telling me that she uses me and now I might end up in jail because of her!" Peter winced, "No Scott, Elaine is the one going on trial which mean it is HER burden to prove that you were the aggressor if she doesn't she'll go to jail." Scott took a deep breath, "What if she does?"

Peter bit his lip, "If she is found not guilty Elaine will press charges against you and you ould go to jail." Scott was going to faint he knew it, "What? You're telling me that she uses me and now I might end up in jail because of her!" Peter winced, "Scott it's highly unlikely you'll be sent to jail, Elaine is the criminal."

Scott threw his arms in the air, "So what?! No one believed me before why would they now?" Martin shouted, "I believe you! I know I didn't before and I am so sorry for that Scott, I can only hope one day you'll forgive me for everything I've put you through, but I believe you. I made some calls and pulled a few strings to make sure you have the best lawyer possible for this case Scott. I promise your mother and I will do everything possible to keep you out of jail." Scott raised an eyebrow, "Mom knows?" Martin sighed, "Yes I had to tell her, I'm sorry Scott I know you wanted to do it on your own, but all things considered I didn't feel I had much of a choice."

Scott shook his head again, he didn't want to deal with this it was too much Peter said, "Scott we're here for you, we're going to help you get through this." Sophie continued, "Yes Scott, we are here for you we will always be here for you." Scott swallowed and the thing he'd been fighting against since Martin had called seemed to break through, "I think I'm going to throw up." Scott ran into the bathroom with Peter hot on his heels. The older man wanted to make sure Scott didn't try to hurt himself.

Scott made it to the bathroom just in time he leaned over the toilet and began to retch; Peter saw Scott and felt a wave of sympathy wash over him as he walked over to the young man. Peter had always a had a particular soft spot for Scott, the young man had gone through so much and he was starting to recover and now this.

Peter wrapped his arms around Scott's stomach and rubbed his back to help ease the discomfort; working in Horizon Peter had done this with dozens of kids over the years. He whispered, "I know this is a lot for you Scott, but you're a strong person and I know you can get through this." Scott stood and flushed then he turned on the faucet and used his hands to catch some water to wash his mouth out. Finally he spoke, "You know how I feel?! Really and when was the last time you had a kid?" Scott didn't mean to shout, but he was so angry he felt like if he didn't get it out of his system he'd explode. Peter looked sad and said, "eight years ago." Scott was taken aback, "What?" Peter answered, "My ex-wife got pregnant eight years ago, our daughter was still born there was nothing the doctors could do." Scott closed his eyes he felt like a heal, his voice cracked as he said, "Peter, I am so sorry I didn't know, I was just so mad at her and I snapped at you I didn't mean to." Peter nodded, "I understand Scott, anger is a natural part of dealing with abuse the key is to not let that anger consume you and turn you into something you're not understand?"

Scott nodded and bit his lip saying "It's just so much, I mean I don't know anything about kids I don't even know for sure if I want a kid, but now I have one and I had no say in this what so ever you know what I mean?" Peter nodded and let Scott continue, "Elaine took so much from me, and now she has to steal this to. Before all this happened I use to think of being a father some day and I always pictured it the same way. I'd go to college and meet a great girl then we'd get married and then a few years later we'd have kids and it'd be..." Scott trailed off and Peter finished, "Perfect?"

Scott shrugged, "In a way, I know it sounds silly." Peter squeezed Scott's shoulder, "It's not silly Scott a lot of people have the same kind of dreams, but life rarely if ever works out the way we want or plan it to." Scott nodded, "I know, but this is such a big thing I was just starting to learn to live with what happened with Elaine and now this I don't know what I'm going to do. What about the baby? I can't take care of him. I know I need to stay here and that it'll be a long time before I'm ready to be responsible for someone else, but I don't want to give him up for adoption and never see him again." Scott grabbed his head and groaned loudly, "I feel like my head is going to explode."

Peter rubbed Scott's back again, "I know this is a lot for you Scott, but I promise we'll do everything we can to help you through this. As for the baby that's something you have to decide for yourself, but you could always give your father custody." Scott snorted, "Yeah if I don't get sent to jail first." Peter rested a hand on Scott's shoulder he wanted to tell Scott that he wasn't going to jail, but he knew it was a possibility life was not fair and he had seen a lot of bad things happen to kids who had all ready been through so much and didn't deserve to suffer anymore. After a while Peter said, "Scott that could happen, but you can't spend all your time worrying about 'what if' the best advice I can give you to take things as they come, one step at a time. Start with something small like going back outside." Scott gave Peter a small smile and walked back out.

Sophie had been talking to Martin while Peter helped Scott and as they walked back in she said, "He's here." Scott swallowed once more and asked, "so what now?" When Martin answered Scott couldn't help noticing his voice sounded different now, but he ignored it after a moment Martin said, "Well you and Elaine will both give depositions on what happened and then we will move on to trial, the judge will probably wait a while because Elaine just had a baby and won't be able to appear in court for some time, but for now no one is allowed to be alone with the baby. We can see him when we like, but a court officer has to be there and the same goes for Elaine."

Scott sighed in relief he was glad Elaine wouldn't be alone with the baby that way she couldn't take him and run away. Martin continued, "Now if Elaine is convicted she will go to jail and we'll petition for her parental rights to be terminated." Scott asked, "Wouldn't that happen anyway." Martin nodded, "yes, but when Elaine is released from prison she could claim she's seen the error of her ways and petition for visitation rights." Scott balked, "over my dead body!" Martin said, "I agree which is why we're going to have her rights terminated so that won't happen later."

Scott sighed heavily, "So we could end up going through three different trials." Martin sounded sad when he answered, "yes, but that's highly unlikely. If Elaine is convicted (which I'm sure she will be) then we shouldn't need to have a trial for her rights to be terminated, it will simply be a matter of petitioning for it then getting a judge to sign off on that petition. If Elaine is found not guilty (which I doubt) then you could be put on trial." Scott sighed and if I'm found guilty I could go to jail, but what happens if neither of us is convicted of anything?" Martin said, "Well the custody of the baby will be the biggest issue, a family court judge may decide your accusations alone are enough to keep Elaine from the baby." Scott said, "but the same thing could be said for me." Martin said, "Yes." Sophie spoke up from behind them, "if neither f you is found guilty of anything than joint custody is the most likely option." Scott paled instantly, "never." Martin responded quickly, "Don't worry I'm going to do everything possible to see that doesn't happen in the mean time try not to get it too worried."

Scott decided he had had enough for one day and wanted to change the subject, "So what's his name what does he look like?" Martin's voice took on a happy tone for the first time since the conversation had started, "He looks like this." Sophie turned around the laptop on Peter's computer and Scott gasped the reason his dad's voice sounded different was because now it was coming from the computer and not the phone. Sophie had set up the laptop to receive a video and now Scot could see Martin was standing outside a hospital wing holding a small baby in his arms wrapped in a blue blanket.

Scott gasped in shock and Sophie smiled Peter had all ready been on the internet so setting the connection up hadn't been too hard. Sophie had turned on the camera that came standard with Peter's laptop so Scott and Martin could see each other. Martin had brought a web camera with him because he had wanted to break the news to Scott 'face to face' (so to speak), but the hospital had been having a problem with its internet connection and the camera hadn't been working before. Scott moved as close to the screen as he could and Martin unwrapped the baby's blanket Scott smiled he was so small the baby was about 8 inches long with dark hair and blue eyes that might or might not change color as he got older. Scott felt a lump in his throat, he'd been so overwhelmed by everything he hadn't really thought of the baby before, but now the only thing in his mind was, 'I'm a father, I have a son' After a few moments Scott managed to say, "he's beautiful." Peter and Sophie both smiled Scott's acceptance of the baby it was a good sign that he would be able to handle this Sophie said "Yes he is." Martin wrapped the baby up again and said, "Scott I know this is a lot for you, but I thought you might like to name him."

Scott wasn't sure how he felt about that at first and asked, "Elaine didn't choose a name?" Martin shrugged, "She did, but I thought you'd like to give him a different name besides the one Elaine picked doesn't seem to it she wants to name him Alfalfa." Scott backed up and grimaced in dislike, "You mean like form the little rascals?" Martin shook his head, "No apparently that was her uncle's name and she wants to pass it down."

Scott shook his head, "You're right that does sound bad." Scott wasn't entirely sure he was the best person to name this baby (especially considering thing he'd ever really named was a pet spider he used to have Scott had named the spider 'Leggy' for obvious reasons). Then he realized something, even if Elaine didn't win at trial it would still be a long time before Scott could take care of his son, (_his son_ that felt so weird he wasn't even old enough to vote and he had kid) and he wanted the baby to have something from his father even if it was just a name. It took a moment for Scott to answer finally he nodded and said, "I'd like that how about Darien, Darien Thomas Barringer." Martin smiled while Peter and Sophie both looked relieved, "I think that's a good name Scott, I should tell you the lawyer handling the case will be by to see you sometime this week, I don't know the exact day, but I'll try to find out." Scott nodded as the picture started to break up Martin said, "all right Scott I have to go, times up I'll try to come up and see you as soon as I can all right? Take care of yourself." Scott said, "Good-bye." And the connection broke, Scott blushed when he realized how close he was sitting to the screen and sat back.

At first everyone sat there not really saying anything Scott wasn't sure what to say and Pete and Sophie could both tell the young man needed a moment to collect his thoughts. This was going to take some time for him to work through.


	3. Shelby

What happens now

Shelby

A/n Thank you to everyone who's reviewed so far your comments are always welcome.

Scott stayed in Peter's office until dinner time talking to him and Sophie about the newest change in his life. Scott made his way to the cafeteria and was instantly bombarded by questions, "Scott what happened?" "What took so long?" "Is anything wrong?" Scott raised his hands and said, "Whoa you guys slow down, my Dad called and needed to tell me something important I'm not really ready to talk about it yet all right." The others nodded, but Scott noticed that Shelby, Ezra, and Daisy all looked fairly curious Scott just hoped they wouldn't constantly bother him about it until he told them. Scott probably wouldn't mind telling Shelby, but he had a feeling it would be hard for her to accept.

After dinner Scott stood quickly (to avoid more questions) and headed outside. It was early spring so the sun had all ready gone down, but Scott could still see a trace of light around the horizon. He wandered around a little not really going anywhere just needing to be by himself and think after a why he heard a familiar voice behind, "Hey Cowboy you mind some company?" Scott turned and smiled as he saw Shelby behind him, he wondered if she'd been following him the whole time or if she'd just happened to stumble on him, after a few minutes he said, "Yeah I wouldn't mind having you around."

Shelby walked over to him and grabbed his hand Scott squeezed hers and gave a small smile Shelby asked, "So you ready to talk about it yet?" Scott nervously bit his lip and said, "I want you to know, but I'm afraid you're going to freak out and personally I wouldn't blame you I did." Shelby looked confused and a little scared, "Scott come on you can tell me what's wrong I've heard just about everything. What is it do you have an STD or something?"

Scott snorted, "Shel don't you think that if I did they would have found it by now?" Shelby shook her head, "Not necessarily there are diseases that can take years to show, up you know the gestation period for AIDS is eight years before you even show signs of being sick." Scott shook his head, "no Shelby I'm not sick it's just, when my Dad called this morning he had a little surprise to me (to put things mildly)." Shelby quirked an eyebrow, "What?" Scott felt like he had swallowed something that was alive and still squirming around in his stomach, "Shelby Elaine had her baby." Shelby suddenly looked sad, "Oh, Scott did something happen, did the baby die? Or is the baby sick?" Scott shook his head feeling very grateful that there was nothing wrong with the baby, "No it's nothing like that." Scott took a deep breath and said the words he hadn't said out loud to anyone, but Peter and Sophie, "The baby Elaine had is mine."

Shelby looked like she had just seen a ghost, "whwhwhat?" Scott swallowed and said, "I have a kid, well a son actually. They did a DNA test and my Dad's wasn't a match, but mine is." Shelby blinked a few times obviously struggling to find the right words to say, "You have a kid? That's wow, I just don't know." Scott nodded, "Yeah I know, if it makes you feel any better I threw up when I found out." Shelby shook her head, "So you have a kid, I don't really know what to say what's he look like?" Scott smiled and pulled a few photos Sophie had printed off from the computer camera for him, "Here take a look." Shelby took the pictures looking shocked, "He was just born and you're all ready carrying pictures around?" Scott shrugged, "Sophie printed them off the computer for me." Shelby looked at the pictures still seeming to be stuck between shock and complete disbelief, "I can't believe this it's crazy." Scott nodded, "You're telling me I'm only 16 and I'm all ready a father." Scott felt a rush go through him as the idea of what had just happened hit him all at once the enormity of the situation suddenly overwhelmed him.

Scott just stood there as a stream of thoughts whirled through his brain, 'what was he supposed to do? He didn't know anything about kids and while his father would raise Darien until Scott was ready to leave Horizon Scott didn't really know what he would do once that happened. Would he be able to find a job? What if he started using again? The last thing Scott wanted was for his son to have to deal with the problems that came from having a parent with substance abuse. Shelby noticed the panicked look on Scott's face and reached over and shook his shoulder, "Scott, Scott come on Cowboy talk to me." Scott blinked out of his stupor, "What? Oh I'm sorry I just, that's the first time I really said that out loud and everything just smashed into me at once. You're freaking out to aren't you Shel?"

Shelby took a long time to answer which caused Scott's stomach to drop, he knew logically that he and Shelby were only teenagers and the odds of them staying together forever and ending up leaving Horizon and getting married or something were small if not non-existent. However, he still didn't like the idea of them splitting up he knew it would hurt, and that it would be really difficult for him to deal with it on top of everything else that had happened recently. Finally Shelby said, "Scott I just don't know, I need to think about this for a while I mean a kid is, it's huge and I just I don't know how I feel I, I care about you, but this is a lot." Scott's face fell and he felt his heart clench as she spoke Shelby noticed and tried to change the subject searching for a way to lighten the conversation Shelby suddenly said, "Well at least now Elaine will be punished for her crimes that's something to be happy about." Scott sighed, "no, Elaine is claiming I forced myself on her and so now there's going to be a trial." Shelby dropped the pictures on the ground, "You're kidding that's ridiculous." Scott shrugged and bent down to pick the pictures up as he said, "Well since she's older she has to prove that I wasn't responsible, but I could still end up with the short end of the stick. I kind of expected something like this when I first pressed charges against her and now I have to deal with, those letters I wrote are going to cause a lot of problems."

Shelby rested a hand on his left arm, "just tell them what you told me and try not to get nervous or say too much when you're on the witness stand." Scott gave her a piercing look, "you sound like you have some experience in this area." Shelby nodded, "Sort of a lot of the girls I knew before I came here were arrested (some several times) and it didn't take me long to learn the basics." Scott nodded as he folded the pictures and put them back in his pocket, "Listen Shel I know this is a lot to deal with and I understand that you need a while to get your head around this. I'm still not sure how I feel honestly, but please don't tell any of the others. I want to keep this quiet for a little while."

Shelby nodded, "I promise I won't say anything." Scott nodded and turned to walk away but before he'd even taken a step Shelby asked, "What's his name?" Scott gave a big smile for one of the few times that day and said, "Darien, Darien Thomas Barringer." Shelby smiled, but looked confused, "that doesn't sound like something Elaine would pick from what you've told me about her." Scott snorted, "It isn't Elaine wanted to name him Alfalfa, but Dad suggested I pick something else." Shelby nodded, "That's a good name and it kind of seems to suit him." She pointed to the pictures as she said this and Scott felt a slight sense of warmth go through him, while Shelby seemed just as nervous as he was she hadn't completely freaked out and didn't appear to be totally apposed to the idea of dating someone who had a child. Scott remembered watching this T.V. show once were the main character was a teenage girl about his age who dated a guy the same age who had a kid and while Scott new television wasn't real it still gave him some hope which is what he needed to hold onto right now.

Shelby took a deep breath and said, "Scott I need some time to think about this, but I want you to know that I think what you're doing is really amazing. I don't know if I would be able to deal with something like this and I hope everything turns out right." Scott smiled and pulled Shelby into a hug, he really needed the comfort right now and he wanted Shelby to know he wasn't mad at her, he had half expected her to run screaming into the night the second he said the word 'baby' this was a much better scenario. "Thanks Shel, I just want you to know no matte what happens you mean a lot to me and you always will." Shelby leaned up and kissed him lightly on the cheek, "Same here cowboy, same here." Shelby turned and walked back towards the girls dorm and Scott sat on the grass, he looked around and realized it was now completely dark, how long had they been outside.

Scott sat there for a few moments not really sure what he was going to do next when a familiar voice came from behind him, "So, it looks like she took it fairly well." Scott turned to see Peter standing there with a flashlight he turned and asked in a somewhat sarcastic tone, "Spying on us were you?" Peter shrugged, "Not really I saw you two out here and I thought you might need someone to talk to if Shelby had a bad reaction." Scott nodded, "She said she needed some time to think about it, I can't really blame her I would like to do the same thing." Peter walked over and held out a hand, "Scott I know this is a lot for you to handle, but I want you to know that I am really proud of you for taking this as well as you have so far." Scott snorted, "Oh yeah I took this brilliantly, first I threw a fit, then I puked, then I nearly fainted telling my girlfriend yeah I'm doing wonderful I should be told I have a child every day." Peter could tell that Scott was showing some of the anger that was to be expected form the shock he'd suffered today, it was only to be expected he rested a hand on Scott's shoulder, "Scott you're are taking this well, I've known a lot of people who had complete break downs when they discovered they had children or were going to have children soon. Listen, I want to talk to you about this, but it's getting cold outside and we need to go in before we freeze all right?" Scott nodded and took Peter's other hand, "Yeah we probably should."

Peter half pulled Scott up onto his feet and the two of them walked back inside, Scott sat down on a chair near the fireplace when they got in feeling his skin tingle slightly, Scott realized that he was colder than he'd thought. Peter quickly threw a blanket over his shoulders and went into the kitchen to grab something warm to drink. Peter came back with two cups of hot chocolate before Scott had even noticed he was gone, Peter could tell Scott was a bit dazed, Peter wasn't all that surprised. Scott took a couple of sips without really noticing what he was drinking Peter sat down beside him and let Scott think things over for himself, when Scott was ready to talk again Peter would be there to listen, it was his job after all.

A/n o.k. that's it for now the next chapter will probably be Scott talking to the lawyer his Dad hired reviews are welcome.


	4. Lawyers

What happens now

Lawyers

A/n warning there will be some descriptive content in this chapter that may be offensive to some people, read with caution.

Scott sat pensively in front of the fire, occasionally he took a sip from the cup of cocoa Peter had given him, but he didn't really taste it. After a few minutes he said, "I can't say I blame her, all of this is freaking me out and, well I see her point." Peter sighed heavily Scott didn't have to say which 'her' he was talking about Peter had heard part of the conversation between him and Shelby, "Scott I want you to know I'm very proud of how well you're taking this, but if you need to yell or scream or do something to let out your frustration and your anger that would be perfectly understandable." Scott took a deep breath, "I won't lie to you, I'm pretty close to losing it right now, but I think I'll wait until tomorrow before I start trashing everything in sight. I guess I'm going to have to tell everyone now, I mean with the trial and everything they're bound to find out sooner or later."

Peter nodded, "That's probably true, but you don't have to say anything right away, wait until you're sure you're ready to share this with everyone." Scott sighed heavily as he took another drink this time he actually managed to taste the sweet drink Peter was so famous for, "It's just not fair, I'm mean everything was going fine and now this and it's just not fair! It's not!" Scott's voice had begun to escalate until he was shouting; finally he stood and threw his cup into the fire causing it to shatter and the fire to expand temporarily." Peter had expected this and as soon as Scott threw the cup he pulled the boy into his arms once again. Scott buried his face in the older man's shoulder and cried hard, huge racking sobs that caused his whole body to shake; Peter shushed him and cradled the young man to him. He'd been waiting for this all day, he knew Scott would need extra help to get through this and he planned to do everything he could to help Scott recover.

Scott finally pulled away and Peter looked him in the eye, "feeling a little better?" Scott nodded Peter said, "Come on I think it's time you went to bed." Scott nodded, he hadn't realized until now how completely exhausted he was, he couldn't help thinking, 'well at least I'm too tired to have any nightmares tonight.' Peter helped the younger man back to his dorm Scott fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow and he didn't stir for the rest of the night. Scott was quiet for the next few days some of the others asked him what was wrong, but he managed to shrug them off without too much trouble. Scott's father called on Friday just as promised and told Scott that the lawyer would be there Monday afternoon his name was Henry Walters and apparently he was a very well known tiger in the legal arena.

Scott couldn't help grinning when he heard this; leave it to his father to never settle for anything but the best. Still it wasn't like they couldn't afford it. Scott was nervous all weekend he kept pacing back and forth, he couldn't sit still or concentrate it felt almost like the first time he'd gotten high. Scott had taken drugs for the first time about two weeks after Elaine started coming into his room, his Dad had told them he was going out of town on business for three days and Scott knew for a fact Elaine would want 'companionship' while Martin was gone. Scott had bought crack from a kid at school who was well know for selling the stuff. Scott had told himself he was only going to use it this one time, just to get through the long weekend. He'd smoked it and the next thing he knew his mind felt like it was going a mile a minute (a/n I've never used drugs before I have no clue if crack really does this). He had felt a thousand different things at once, the sensations were hard to describe, but he remembered feeling incredibly restless and unable to sit still or hold a single thought in his head for very long. The other boys noticed Scott's agitation and asked him what was going on Scott decided to tell them part of the truth, "Elaine had her baby and I have to give a deposition for the trial it's making me nervous."

Auggie gave him a reassuring slap on the back, "Hey there's nothing to worry about it's not like you're the one on trial." Scott winced, he knew Auggie was only trying to help, but this was making things worse. It was true Scott wasn't going to be the one on trial, but Elaine's lawyer would hit him hard and Scott could end up being the one on trial, and hearing Auggie say it out loud made the possibility seem more likely. Auggie asked, "So is it a boy or a girl?" Scott jerked up and said, "Oh, ah it's a boy his names Darien, here Sophie printed these off the computer for me." Scott showed Auggie the pictures, "Not bad you got a cute little brother there." Scott felt himself go red and said, "A listen I have to go, the lawyer will be here soon and I have to get to Peter's office." Auggie handed Scott the pictures and he left quickly. Truthfully Scott didn't need to be at Peter's office for at least another hour, but if he stayed in the dorm any longer he was going to explode.

Scott was wandering around Horizon not really going anywhere, just needing to walk around get some air and clear his head. Scott stood on one of the many wooden walk-ways Horizon had and stared at the mountains in the distance, something about them always gave him a calm peaceful feeling. Scott allowed his mind to wander not really thinking of anything, he was so lost in thought he didn't realize someone had been calling his name until a hand grabbed his shoulder, "Hey Scott you all right?"

Scott turned around and nearly gasped in shock, it was Shelby. This was the first time they'd really spoken since he'd told her about Darien, "oh, Shelby I um, what? Yeah I'm fine I was just thinking." Shelby nodded, "How are you doing?" Scott sighed heavily he wasn't sure what was going on with him and Shelby, but he knew he had to talk to someone and Shelby was one of the few people who knew the whole truth of what was happening finally he said, "Honestly? I feel like my head's going to explode half the time and the rest of the time I feel like running screaming into the night pulling out all of my hair." Shelby snickered, "I think it would be easier to just shave it off, but don't do that I don't think you're one of those very few guys that actually looks good bald." Scott snorted, "Yeah I would agree."

Shelby gave him a piercing look and asked, "So what's really bothering you?" Scott gave a small smile Shelby could always tell when he wasn't telling the whole truth about something or when he needed to talk, "The Lawyer's coming today I have to give my deposition." Shelby shrugged, "So? Scott this lawyer is on your side, since you're the minor Elaine is the one who has to prove her side of the story meaning the prosecutor is going to be proving your story." Scott nodded, "I know, but I just feel so edgy. DCFS was supposed to be on my side and look how that turned out" Shelby nodded, "I know it's been hard, but this is a different situation. I could tell you feeling nervous and I just wanted to remind you to try and relax a little. The other reason I wanted to talk to you is to say I'm sorry about the way I acted." Scott raised a hand, "It's all right I don't blame you, I freaked out myself when I found out and this does change everything."

Shelby nodded then said, "I'm still not sure how I feel about all of this, but I know I care about you and I want you to know I'm still here if you need me." Scott smiled this is what he'd been hoping to hear, he pulled Shelby into a tight hug, "Thank you I need to hear this now more than ever." Shelby smiled, "Listen if you want to, we could meet in the main lodge after your deposition and just talk." Scott nodded eagerly, "I'd love to, I'm not sure what time it'll be over, but I think I should be done by dinner at the latest."

Shelby smiled, "See you then." Then she turned and left Scott quietly saying, "See you" to her back knowing she wouldn't hear him. Scott was practically singing when he got to Peter's office the older man could tell something had happened, "Well you seem to be in a good mood." Scott smiled broadly at him and Peter nearly fell over, he wasn't used to Scott being this cheerful, "I talked to Shelby, I think things are going to be all right." Realization dawned on Peter's face, "Ah, I see. Well that's good." Privately Peter couldn't help feeling thrilled this was just the thing Scott needed to relax him so he could get through this, still it wasn't going to be easy one way or another. Scott sighed as he entered Peter's office and saw Mr. Walters sitting there, he looked to be about average height (although it was hard to tell because he wasn't standing) with short red hair, a thick mustache, and dark brown eyes.

Walters stood and shook Scott's hand, "Hello Mr. Barringer, I'm Henry Walters." Scott had to fight the urge to roll his eyes and say 'duh' loudly instead he simply nodded as Walters continued; "Now Scott before we begin do you have any questions?" Scott sat down on the chair next to were Walters had been sitting and waited for him to sit as well, he didn't want to seem rude, but this would take a while and he didn't feel like standing through the whole thing. Finally Scott said, "I do have one thing I wanted to know, why do I have to give a deposition? I mean can't you use the interview DCFS did?" Walters sighed, "Well that is a bit of a loaded question, the interview with DCFS was an introductory interview. They were doing it to see if there was enough evidence to file charges I'm sure you didn't tell them everything during that interview." Scott went slightly red, "Well, I told them a lot, but there wasn't really time to tell them everything and I wasn't ready to talk about a lot of things, I'm still not."

Mr. Walters nodded, "Mr. Barringer, may I call you Scott?" Scott shrugged, "I guess." Mr. Walters said, "Scott I know this will be hard for you, but you need to tell me everything and I do mean everything. If you remember something later on that is fine, but if you omit certain things then your step-mothers lawyer will tear you apart on the cross examine." Scott wrinkled his eyebrows in confusion, "Won't that make Elaine look guilty?" Walters shook his head, "no the exact opposite, remember your step-mother is claiming you were the aggressor. If you leave things out of your testimony it will look like you have something to hide which will make you look guilty do you understand?" Scott swallowed hard and starred at his feet as he nodded.

Peter rested a comforting hand on his shoulder causing Scott to jump slightly; he had almost forgotten the older man was there. Peter said, "it's all right Scott, none of this will be easy, but just keep telling yourself that you are not the guilty one here. Elaine is the one who took advantage of you she is the one who has to prove you are lying not the other way around and as long as you know the truth that is what matters." Scott took a deep breath, "Thanks." Mr. Walters cleared his throat to get their attention, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but we need to begin, Scott I am going to record this session and have it transcribed later is that all right?" Scott nodded sitting up straight and squaring his shoulders, he didn't like this, but he wasn't going to curl up and hide somewhere. He'd tried that once and ended up becoming an addict and a teenage father. Mr. Walters placed a tape recorder on the table and turned it on then asked, "All right Scott start from the beginning when was the first time your step-mother acted inappropriately towards you?

Warning: the edgier stuff starts here.

Finally Scott started, "the first time Elaine ever did anything was about a month or so after she and my dad got married, I was swimming in the pool and when I got out she basically checked me out." Mr. Walters prodded him, "How so?" Scott said, "She looked me over and it was, it was like how some of the cheerleaders used to look at me during or after the football games." Mr. Walters nodded, "I see, Scott were you wearing a Speedo or swim trunks at the time?" Scott made a face, "I was wearing trunks why does that matter?" Mr. Walters said, "Well if you had been wearing something more revealing Elaine's lawyer may have argued that you were trying to entice your step-mothers interest."

Scott nearly threw up, "That's sick; she's my father's wife why would I even consider that?" Mr. Walters raised an eyebrow, "It has been known to happen before, I've heard numerous stories of young men willingly sleeping with their step-mothers. From what I've seen Elaine is attractive enough for most people to believe they'd be more than lucky to spend the evening with her. I know that sounded harsh, but these are exactly the kind of things that will come up at trial."

Scott felt like truly ill, but he forced himself to answer, "I'm not stupid, I know Elaine is pretty, but she isn't my type. Even if she were the woman was my_ father's_ wife and I would never hurt my dad by doing something like sleep with his wife." Mr. Walter's nodded, "Very good answer, but the defense will probably say something along the lines of 'then how do you explain the love letters you sent her'?" Scott groaned, "They weren't really love letters. I never said I loved her, but I did write to her. The reason I did that was because my Dad wasn't around much then. My mom and I talked on the phone a couple of times a week, but it wasn't the same, we actually had a pretty good relationship before the divorce, but once it was finalized I hardly ever saw her and it seemed like that connection was gone. I felt like if what Elaine and I had wasn't real then that meant I had nothing. I didn't want to believe that I had no real connection to anyone and that I was alone and unloved. So I convinced myself it was real and I wrote to her, I know it was stupid, but it's not something I can take back now."

Mr. Walters seemed to consider this as Peter said, "Mr. Walters I have been counseling troubled teens for years and believe me when I tell you Scott is not the first nor will he be the last person who has suffered from abuse that feels a connection with their abuser. There was a girl here several years ago whose mother used to lock her in the closet for hours on end, when she was finally removed from the situation she cried for her mother for three hours." Mr. Walters bit his lip in a pensive manner, "Yes I am aware of cases like that, and I believe you Scott, but Elaine's lawyer is going to be very harsh with you because of those letters remember he will be fighting tooth and nail to keep his client out of jail." Scott nodded, "Yeah I figured, my Dad basically said the same thing." Mr. Walters shifted slightly in his chair before he spoke again. Scott thought that Mr. Walters was nervous about what he had to ask next or he thought that Scott was going to be uncomfortable answering; Scott figured it was the latter. Finally he said, "Scott this may be difficult for you to discuss, but I need to ask these questions and you need to give me honest answers, how long after this 'pool incident' did the abuse begin?"

Scott put his head back so it looked like he was staring at the ceiling, this was something he'd discussed briefly before, but talking about it in detail would not be easy. Not only that, but he hadn't exactly kept a thorough record of Elaine's behavior and he needed to think about the answer for a minute, "I think it was almost a full month actually, my Dad was staying overnight at the office (he does that sometimes when he has a big project to work on) and there was this bad storm outside. Elaine came into my room and asked to sleep in my bed, she said she was afraid of the storm. I thought it was kind of weird so at first I said 'no' and I told her it would make me uncomfortable, but she didn't listen she just kept saying, 'please Scotty' over and over." Scott shuddered at the memory he had never liked being called Scotty even before Elaine, the nickname always reminded him of that guy from Star Trek (a television show he'd never really liked). Now he truly hated the name Scotty with every fiber of his being, if anyone called him that, even if it were an accident, he usually freaked out.

Peter seemed to understand Scott's distress and asked, "Do you want a break?" Scott shook his head, "No it's easier for me to just keep going, if I stop and start a lot I won't be able to get through this. Anyway I finally got sick of Elaine whining so I said 'yes' she climbed into my bed and I tried to just go to sleep right away and forget she was there. After a few seconds she put her hand across my torso and started stroking my stomach, I asked her what she was doing? She said, that she knew I wanted her that she'd seen the way I was looking at her."

Scott paused before going on, "I started to freak out I jumped out of bed and asked what the hell she was talking about, she was my father's wife and I hadn't been doing any of those things. Then she started laughing and saying there was no need for me to be coy that my Dad wasn't home and we didn't have to worry about anything. I told her to go back to her room, then she stood up and walked over to me (I was standing next to the wall) she kissed me. I pushed her away and told her to stop, but she said no. I said I'd tell my Dad, but she said he wouldn't believe me that he'd say it was my fault and that he'd send me away and never want to see me again. She said she was his wife, he loved her and he'd believe her no matter what, but he wouldn't believe me, then she put her hand down my pants and I uh, well you know…" Scott trailed off as Mr. Walters said, "Became aroused?"

Scott felt himself flush as Peter said, "Scott remember we've talked about this before a physical reaction to something does not imply consent, you couldn't help it and you" "didn't do anything wrong." Scott finished, he'd gone over this with Peter more times than he could count. When he'd first come to Horizon Scott had thought he was responsible for what happened, because after the first time he never tried to stop it. Also, he had never been able to help the fact that no matter how much he hated what was going on it always kind of felt good and he had always had a reaction to that whether he wanted it or not.

Mr. Walters pushed, "Scott you need to answer." Scott said, "Yeah, I had a reaction to what Elaine was doing, she said that proved that I liked it and kissed me again she kept touching me until I came." Scott felt himself flush once more, "She kissed me and went back to her room and I, I didn't know what to do, I couldn't think I just remember feeling so dirty. I threw my clothes in the washing machine and ran into the bathroom and spent the next hour in the shower. Elaine came back into my room two weeks after that, that was the first time we had sex, every time she came into my room Elaine said that it would be the last time, but it never was." Scott could feel tears on his cheeks, he didn't know when he'd started crying, but the memories were starting to come back full force.

End of strong content

Peter pulled Scott into a hug and told him over and over that it wasn't his fault, finally Scoot pulled away Mr. Walters looked truly disgusted, "Mr. Barringer, I am so sorry that you had to suffer through this, it is completely inexcusable." Scott nodded, "Thank you is that enough?" Mr. Walters shook his head sadly, "I'm afraid not, I have to ask some more questions, when Elaine started having sex with you did she restrain you in any way? Hold down your wrists or something of that nature?" Scott shook his head, "No" Mr. Walters asked, "Did she ever drug you or give you alcohol?" Scott shook his head, "No, but I probably did enough of that myself." No one laughed at this, but Peter smirked slightly Mr. Walters asked, "And when did you start using drugs and drinking?

Scott sighed, "It was about three months after Elaine started coming into my room, my Dad was going on this conference for work and he wouldn't be back for two weeks. I knew Elaine was going to be coming after me again, and didn't think I could take it. I had heard of a few kids at school, who sold drugs, I told myself it was just going to be this one time. I found this kid and I bought some crack from him, that night Elaine and I had sex. When she left I smoked the drugs, they made me feel better, kind of numb. It didn't hurt as much when I used them so I kept on using them, eventually I started drinking to (I'm not sure when).

Mr. Walters asked, "Was cocaine the only drug you used?" Scott snorted, "Not even close, I did a lot of different things. Mostly it was crack, but I also used Marijuana and occasionally I used heroine as well, but not too much. I'd heard on T.V. using heroine gives you lines and I knew someone would notice and bust me for it. My grades took a major nosedive and I wasn't eating as much, I lost a lot of weight and by the time I got here I was underweight."

Mr. Walters asked, "You developed an eating disorder as well?" Scott shook his head, "not really, it wasn't that I wasn't eating because I thought I was fat or that I needed to lose weight and couldn't think of a better way. I wasn't eating because what was happening made me feel sick to my stomach. I felt guilty because Elaine was my Dad's wife and then I felt bad because I didn't want to do this with her and confused because it felt good. I was so confused and because of that there were days I just couldn't make myself eat anything. Also, I know that a side effect of some of the drugs I was using is that they keep you from feeling hungry." Mr. Walters said, "I see, Mr. Scarborough how much did Scott weigh when he was admitted to Horizon?" Peter went to one of the file cabinets in his office and pulled out Scott's file he leafed through it a little before he found the answer, "125 pounds that's fairly small for a teenage boy, especially one as tall as Scott." Mr. Walters nodded, "I agree. Scott Elaine's lawyer will be very hard on you when you say that it felt good they will argue that implies some degree of consent or shows you weren't completely against the idea the defense is going to hit you very hard and we will work on this again later, but I want you to be prepared."

Scott took a deep breath, "I understand are we done?" Mr. Walters nodded, "Yes Scott I think that's enough for today, and I want to assure you I am going to do everything in my power to see to it that you get the justice you deserve." Mr. Walters turned off the tape recorder then he stood and shook Scott's hand as Scott said, "Thanks it means a lot for me to hear someone say that." Mr. Walters nodded, he shook Peter's hand and left. As soon as he was gone Scott sank back into the chair, his legs were shaking and he felt like horrible. Peter sat down next to him and put a hand on his shoulder, "That was incredibly brave of you Scott, I am very proud of you and I'm sure your father is to." Scott gave a shaky smile, "thanks, I really needed to hear that, can I just sit here for a while?" Peter nodded, "As long as you like." Scott sighed in relief and leaned back in the chair his head hurt and his stomach still hadn't settled, but somehow he felt better now than he had since the day his Dad had told him he believed what Scott had said about Elaine.

a/n that's all for now this is the longest chapter in this story thus far, please review.


	5. Telling all

What happens now

Speak the truth

Scott sat in Peter's office for several minutes after his deposition ended, he didn't really say anything he just sat there and took some deep breathes. Peter handed him a glass of water which he drank gratefully, finally he stood and said, "Thank you." Peter nodded, "It's what I'm here for, Scott it's all right with you I'd like to call your father and arrange a time when you can go see your son." Scott's face brightened instantly, "Really? That'd be great." Peter smiled, it was good to see Scott so excited about having contact with his child, it was a good sign that the young man would make it through this latest ordeal, "I'll call him tomorrow and tell you a set of dates you can pick from to visit Darien." Scott nodded, "Thank you Peter this means a lot to me." Peter nodded and Scott left to meet up with Shelby.

Scott made his way to the main lounge and waited in a chair for Shelby to show up, he had gotten out earlier than he'd expected so he wasn't surprised to see Shelby hadn't showed up yet. Scott waited about fifteen minutes before Shelby got there, "Hey, how are you doing?" Scott sighed, "O.k. Peter's going to set things up so I can visit the baby." Shelby sat down and said, "Sounds nice." Scott nodded, "I think I need to tell the others." Shelby got a surprised look on her face, "Really? All ready? You don't think it's too early?" Scott shook his head, "honestly, no I don't think it's too soon. Besides I'm worried that if I wait too long they'll find out from someone else." Shelby sounded surprised as she asked, "How?" Scott sighed, "This trial is probably going to be in the media somehow, from what Dad tells me Elaine's lawyer is one hell of a publicity hog."

Shelby made a face, "Sound like this is going to be fun, so how'd your deposition go?" Scott rolled his eyes, "All right I suppose, you are never going to believe this. You remember I told you about the first time Elaine showed interest in me?" Shelby nodded, "Yeah that thing by the pool." Scott snorted, "My lawyer asked me if I had been wearing trunks or a speedo at the time." Shelby crinkled her forehead, "Why?" Scott said, "Because apparently if I had chosen of my own free will to wear a speedo at the pool in my own backyard Elaine's lawyer would have argued that I was trying to attract her attention isn't that nice?" Shelby's mouth fell open, "You're kidding?" Scott shook his head, "No, isn't that the stupidest thing you ever heard?"

Shelby shook her head, "Well not the stupidest, but it's definitely in the top ten." Scott laughed, "I think I'll tell the others in group tomorrow." Shelby said, "you're the only one who really has the right to make that choice. Good luck." Scott nodded, "Thanks, I think I'm going to need it."

Hghghghghghghghghghghghghg

Group the next morning seemed to go really slowly, Scott felt like someone had magically slowed down time because each minute felt like at least an hour to him. Auggie was talking about how his aunt might come live with his parents because her house was being bought out by developers who wanted to put up a strip mall. When he was done Scott volunteered to speak, Peter seemed to understand what he was going to say and asked, "Scott are you sure you're ready to share this?" Everyone but Shelby and Sophie looked seriously shocked when he asked this, Peter never questioned someone's willingness to share in group, but this wasn't a typical case Peter didn't want Scott to rush into something like this too quickly. Scott bit his lip and said, "Yes I'm sure." Peter nodded.

Scott sat up straight in his chair, "this is going to be hard to take in. Elaine had her baby and it's a boy." Jules said, "'Well that's great congratulations you're a big brother." Scott shook his head, "You don't understand Elaine didn't give birth to my little brother she gave birth." He took a deep breath and said, "To my son." Daisy asked, "What?" Scott said, "They tested Darien's (that's his name) DNA when he was born. He didn't match my Dad, but he did match me."

Ezra said, "Wow, well doesn't that mean they have to believe you now?" Scott shook his head, "No, Elaine is saying I was the one who forced myself on her there's going to be a trial and I've all ready given a deposition, because I'm a minor Elaine is the one who has to prove that she's telling the truth." The others looked completely shocked Sophie spoke up first, "Everything will be fine Scott." Scott nodded finally Daisy spoke up, "Scott I'm really sorry you have to deal with all of this." Scott said, "I'm not going to lie and pretend everything is fine because it isn't, lying about what's going on is how I got in this situation in the first place, but I'm learning to deal with it."

Auggie asked, "So when' the trial?" Scott shrugged, "A couple of weeks, you gotta remember Elaine just had a baby so she needs to recover, not that I really care, but that judge does." Finally Ezra asked the one question Scott had been dreading, "What happens if you lose? Not to say you will, but if you do then what?" Scott sighed heavily, "Elaine will press charges and if I'm convicted I could go to jail. They might take my age into account and send me to Juvie instead of prison, but I could go to jail." Jules said, "That's terrible." Scott nodded, "Elaine is good at convincing people of things, she's a very talented liar and a part of me is scared she's going to convince everyone she's telling the truth."

Auggie said, "Well even if you do get convicted maybe you won't be sent away, sometimes if your underage people make deals with the judge you know. I mean you might end up just being sent back to Horizon." Scott looked at Peter, "Is that possible?" Peter nodded, "It's not uncommon that children convicted of a crime are sent here instead of prison, but it depends on the crime committed and the judge involved. Still, if you do go to court you could ask for it just in case." Scott shrugged, "Well it certainly wouldn't hurt." Peter said, "Remember thought that option is a long way off, Elaine would have to be found not guilty, then press charges against you, then you would have to be convicted. All of which is highly unlikely." Everyone was silent for a long time

Finally hoping to change the subject and lighten the mood Jules said "What's the baby look like?" Scott gave a weak smile and reached into his pocket to pull out the photos, "Want to see? Sophie printed these up for me when my Dad called me to tell me what was going on."

Scott passed the photos around, as soon as the others got over their initial shock they became interested. Jules gushed over the photo, "Oh Scott he's adorable." Auggie asked, "So how are you handling this it must be hard having everything thrown at you at once?" Scott took a deep breath, "Yeah it was really hard at first I was so angry when my Dad told me. I felt like everything Elaine had done had come back again it was like breaking open an old injury, but I'm starting to get used to it all of it." The others assured Scott that he would win the trial and that Elaine was the one who was guilty. Scott smiled at the support of his friends it felt good to hear someone besides Peter, Sophie, and Shelby tell him everything was going to be fine and while he knew they were probably just doing it to make him feel better and take his mind off of possibly going to jail it still felt good to have their help. He had expected Sophie, and Peter to tell him to have faith and everything would work out, but the others were more likely to tell him the honest (if sometimes brutal) truth, especially Daisy.

Peter grinned as he watched the others look at the pictures and give Scott words of encouragement this was what Scott needed, Peter had been a little worried the other Cliff hangers would have trouble adjusting to this change, but they had shown their loyalty and done something which made him truly proud. As Peter saw Scott's smile as he took the photos back he knew it was going to be all right as long as Scott had the support he needed. Still Peter couldn't help worrying what would happen if Scott lost the trial, he didn't want to be pessimistic, but he knew it was a possibility and decided he'd call in a few favors to see if he could keep Scott out of jail should the worst occur. He only hoped the steps he was taking would be enough to protect the young man who had all ready suffered so much.


	6. Meetings

What happens now

Planning visits

Scott was fairly quiet the next few days; Peter decided to give him some space so that Scott could absorb everything that had happened to him. In the mean time Peter called a few people who he knew in Social Services, the department of corrections (both juvenile and adult), and family counselors these people would be able to help both inside and outside of the legal arena. Peter hoped that if the worst case scenario occurred he would be able to keep Scott out of jail. He knew the young man did not belong there and placing Scott in prison would probably be the worst thing for him at this point, and Peter wanted to do everything he could to help Scott.

Scott meanwhile was trying to keep up with his classes while still getting his head around the trial that was still without a date. Scott's father had told him the date for the trial wouldn't be set for a few weeks so that Elaine would have a chance to recover from giving birth and so they could also make sure that Darien was perfectly healthy and didn't have any problems that could only be detected after a child was a certain number of days old.

In the mean time Scott pretty much had to sit an wait, Elaine had given her deposition and Scott's lawyer had promised he'd bring the deposition to Horizon and go over it with Scott so Scott would know what to expect during the trial. Scott's lawyer also wanted to get some answers to questions that would come up as a result of Elaine's deposition and testifying. Scott couldn't help feeling a little edgy thinking of and dreading the things that Elaine would say about him and what the jury would decide about Elaine when the trial was over.

Scott couldn't help thinking about what would happen to Darien if Elaine was allowed custody of him and more often than not Scott ended up feeling sick with worry. Scott talked to Peter, Sophie, and Shelby regularly, but none of them seemed capable of completely assuaging his fears.

The only positive thing that seemed to come out of this experience was that Scott was talking to his father more than he had before. Ever since Elaine had come into their lives a wall had existed between Scott and Martin which hadn't fully come down, Martin's reluctance to believe Scott when he first told him about the abuse had made things between them even worse and even thought things had gotten better since Martin and Elaine had divorced, Scott wasn't even close to having the relationship with his dad that had existed before Elaine. While Scott knew that what happened to him wasn't his father's fault he couldn't help thinking that if Martin had never married Elaine none of this would have happened.

However, after Darien was born the wall between Scott and Martin had started coming down and their relationship had improved greatly. Scott felt himself connecting with his father in a way that he hadn't thought possible before this, so it was no surprise to Scott when Martin called one Friday evening after his classes for no real reason…….

Scott used the phone in Peter's office as always, "Hi, Dad is everything o.k.?"

Martin answered, "Yes, everything's fine, but I thought you should know that it's time to go over Elaine's deposition."

Scott groaned loudly then said with heavy sarcasm, "Great, just how I wanted to spend the weekend."

"Scott I know this is going to be hard for you, but I thought it might be easier if you had something to look forward to."

Scott raised an eyebrow in curiosity, "Like what?"

Scott could practically hear his dad smile as he said, "Well the deposition is next week, so how about the day after you come down here and officially meet your son?"

Scott gasped in shock, "Really you mean it?" Martin laughed at the sound of Scott's voice, it reminded him of when Scott was younger and Martin had told him they'd be taking as trip to the zoo, or spending the weekend camping together.

Martin answered, "Yes, I mean it, I've all ready talked to Peter and he agreed that it's a good idea. Peter will come down here with you, you'll spend the day (maybe even sleep over), and the next morning you'll go back to Horizon. How does that sound to you?"

Scott grinned broadly, "It sounds great, I didn't think I'd be allowed to see Darien before the trial."

"You can, as long as it's a supervised visit, an independent court liaison officer will be here to make sure everything goes well."

Scott snorted loudly, "You mean to make sure I don't run off with Darien because I don't want Elaine to have him?"

Martin sighed heavily, "Yes, look Scott I don't like it anymore than you do, but for the time being we just have to accept this all right?"

Scott nodded to himself, "Yes I know so I'll see you Saturday?"

Martin happily responded, "Saturday, good-bye."

"Bye."

Scott hung up the phone and turned to Peter, "I'm going to meet my son." Peter smiled, "I know, but I'm glad you're so excited about it, I didn't want to force you into this if you weren't ready." Scott laughed, "Are you kidding? I've been waiting to see Darien since my Dad told me. I mean it was hard for me to accept all for this, but even right away I couldn't help feeling excited and I want to see my son for myself." Peter smiled and clasped Scott's shoulder smiling, "I was hoping to hear that."


	7. Her story

What happens now

He said, she said.

Mr. Walters arrived mid-afternoon Thursday, Scott had spent most of the day pacing back and forth, he was going to hear Elaine's deposition today and he really didn't want to. Mr. Walters shook Peter's hand when he came in then he shook Scott's, once he sat down Mr. Walters took a thick packet of paper from his brief case, "I think we should get through this as quickly as possible." Peter nodded as Walters said, "I'm going to read this over and leave a copy with you so you can go over it yourself if you like."

Scott made a face, he didn't want to hear anymore of Elaine's lies and he certainly didn't want to read them over and over again, "Deposition of Elaine Janice Mason (a/n does anyone know what Elaine's real maiden name is?) dated August 15th, 2001; my relationship with my former stepson Scott Barringer began rather tensely, I believe he felt I was responsible for his parents divorce. I wasn't entirely comfortable around Scott either, I knew Martin had a son, but we had gotten married so quickly Scott and I hadn't really gotten to know each other before the wedding and I was a little overwhelmed at suddenly becoming a parent to a teenage boy. However, after a while things seemed to settle down Scott was an easy going young man who was very friendly and welcoming towards me, I wanted the two of us to get along so I encouraged his behavior, thinking back on it now I think perhaps I let things go too far."

Scott snorted when he heard this, but he didn't say anything as Walters continued, "It was about six months after Martin and I were married that Scott began to make sexual advances towards me. At first it was just innocent little things that I didn't see as threatening Scott would put his hand on my arm and leave it there a little longer than most people would, or give me lingering looks, after a while he started making jokes about the two of us having a relationship he'd say things like, 'if you ever get tired of my Dad you can always turn to me." As soon as Scott heard this he jumped from his chair and snapped loudly, "I never said anything like that!"

Pete placed a calming hand on Scott's arm as Walters said, "Scott I have no doubt that your former stepmother is lying, but you must remember that losing your temper isn't going to help anything. If you react like this in trial it may lead the judge to believe that you are prone to violence which will add credence to what Ms. Mason is saying." Peter nodded, "Scott, Elaine and her lawyer are both going to say a lot of things during the trial that are worse than this, you can't go flying off the handle every time you'll end up being charged in contempt of court and you may not be allowed at the proceedings at all." Scott raised an eyebrow, "I thought the law says I have a right to be there."

Mr. Walters sighed, "It does, but if you disrupt the court too much you will be sent out of the courtroom and have to watch from a closed circuit television, it doesn't happen very often, but it's not unheard of so you need to be aware." Scott sighed, "all right, I'm sorry I'll try to keep my temper I promise." Scott sat back down as Walters took a drink of water, "I laughed it off when Scott made jokes like that, I often noticed him eyeing me and simply shrugged it off as an innocent crush then things began to get more serious. I agree a lot of what happened was my fault, and that's why I didn't tell anyone about this before, but I've come to realize that Scott is sick and he needs help. I also don't want him to be a bad influence on my son." Scott scowled, 'her son, Darien is my child to'

Mr. Walters noticed Scott's anger at the statement, but was happy to see the young man hadn't had another outburst, "the first time Scott and I ever had sex was about the first or second week of April nearly a year and a half ago, Martin was working overnight and there was a vicious thunder storm going on. I've always been afraid of harsh storms and I heard on the news that several homes had all ready been destroyed or damaged, looking back now I know that what I did was stupid, but I wasn't thinking properly. I went into Scott's room and asked him if I could stay, Scott smiled at me and said certainly I was going to sleep on a small couch in his room, but he insisted on my sharing the bed. I should have said no, but like I said before I wasn't thinking clearly when I laid down Scot put his arm around my waist. I told him to let go he did, and he moved his hand off my stomach then he put it up my skirt I told him to stop, but he just kissed me and told me to relax and enjoy everything."

Scott felt himself going green hearing this, "Scott began running his hands around my body and slipped my nightgown off (I wasn't wearing anything under it), then he rolled over so he was lying on top of me I tried to push him off, but he was too heavy. Scott took off his pants and then he penetrated me, I should have told Martin as soon as he came home, but I thought it was a one time thing that if I told Scott I didn't want to damage my relationship with his father. When I did confront him he thought I was being coy and just didn't want to get caught. After that first night he started touching me sexually, he would grab my ass or my breasts and frequently kissed me or fondled me when his father wasn't around. Scott would frequently have sex with me after that first night, usually it was when his father was staying over night or out of town on business I frequently told him that I wasn't interested in him, but he refused to take no for an answer. I believe he had deluded himself into thinking I was actually in love with him. Perhaps in his heart Scott realized I did not enjoy our encounters and that is why he started using drugs or maybe he just started it out of curiosity and didn't stop like many boys his age either way I was greatly relieved when Martin finally called Mt. Horizon, I thought they could give him the help he needed which is why I never reported Scott to the police."

Mr. Walters paused as Scott shook his head, "This is complete bull." Mr. Walters said, "Remember Elaine has to prove your lying not the other way around." Scott nodded as he went on, "However, being at Horizon didn't keep Scott out of my life he wrote me several love letters just after he left. Then when his father and I went to visit Scott claimed that I was the one who had violated him. I was completely shocked, it was then that I realized Scott needed more help than Horizon could provide. I was planning on pressing charges against him when social services came to my house to look things over, I showed them the letters Scott had written and it was enough to convince them I was not guilty. The social workers said there wasn't a way to say one way or another who was telling the truth so I just assumed that pressing charges would do no good so I didn't then after my son was born I knew I had to say something, I was afraid Scott would get partial or full custody of Alfalfa." Scott grimaced at the name, "and I didn't want him to damage my child so I decided to come forward with the truth and now I find myself being the one accused of a crime I can only hope that Scott will see what he is doing and come out with the truth for his own sake as well as the sake of the truth."

Mr. Walters finished and put the deposition away as Scott snorted loudly, "That woman wouldn't know the truth if it walked up and bit her in the ass." Mr. Walters said, "that may be, but some of the things she has mentioned do sound reasonable, Elaine is a great deal smaller than you are and I'm sure her lawyer will point out how easy it would have been for you to overpower her when she molested you and how difficult it would be for her to do the same thing in such a situation." Scott nodded his understanding, "I never thought of pushing her off or anything like that, my parents always taught me not to hit women and I guess it stuck."

Peter said, "that happens a lot in cases of men being raped, it's a rare occurrence, but it has happened before" Mr. Walters nodded, "Yes I've heard that as well, now Scott Ms. Mason's lawyer is going to hit you hard and fast on cross examine he is going to try to trick you into saying things that aren't true or turn everything you say around, I'm going to help you with that later, but for now I want you to remember to control your temper and be especially careful of everything you say on the stand it's very hard to take things back once a judge or jury has heard it said." Scott nodded, "I understand thank you." Scott shook Walters hand and Peter did the same as he prepared to leave after handing them a copy of Elaine's deposition. Scott sighed heavily and leaned over Peter's desk bracing himself with his arms, "I can't do this." Peter rubbed his back, "Yes you can, you're one of the strongest young men I've ever met and I know you can do this it won't be easy, but you can do this." Scott stood there, "You got to admit Elaine sounded pretty convincing, it was smart of her to stick close to the truth of what really happened and not make herself sound like a complete martyr. I wonder if she even realizes what she did is wrong or if she has actually convinced herself she's telling the truth?"

Peter said, "I don't know Scott, but Elaine is a smart woman and she is very capable of manipulating things to turn out how SHE wants them to it's possible she does know that she is lying, but at the same time doesn't believe or isn't willing to admit she is guilty o anything there's no way to know for sure." Scott said, "I suppose it doesn't really matter either way. It just seems like every time Elaine is mentioned things just get worse," Peter nodded, "it's going to be that way for a while, but hopefully things will work out in the end and you'll never have to deal with Elaine again." Scott stood and leaned his head back, "Even if she does get arrested I'll still have to deal with her, what am I going to tell Darien when he gets older and starts asking about his mother? I'd rather he hear the truth from me then find out some other way and I don't want to lie to my son about something as important as this. Than there's the fact that every time I see Darien I won't be able to help thinking of her, I just hope I don't hurt him."

Peter said, "You won't there are plenty of people who raise children that were conceived because of rape and while it isn't easy it is possible, and I can give you a list of several support groups you can talk to for help after you leave here." Scott gave him a small smile, "Thanks." Peter clapped him on the shoulder, "your welcome, now go get some sleep you've got a big day coming up you'll finally be able to see him." For the first time in weeks Scott gave a full small, "I can't wait." He thanked Peter again and left quickly and headed to his dorm to the cafeteria to eat, he had been so nervous he hadn't eaten before hand. After a heavy meal he went back to his dorm and fell asleep.


	8. visitation

Visitation

On Friday night Scott packed a bag for himself, his Dad had told him he might be staying overnight Saturday, and Peter had agreed it was a possibility. Once everything was put away Scott went over it out loud, "o.k. clothes, hair brush, tooth brush. Did I forget anything? I don't think I did." Ezra spoke up from behind him, "You know Scott, if you want people to think you're responsible enough to take care of a kid talking to yourself probably isn't the best way to do it." Scott snorted, "Very funny, I was just double checking I packed everything, I do this every time I go somewhere."

Ezra raised an eyebrow in confusion, "why?" Scott shrugged, "One time when I was eight my Mom and Dad took me camping and I was so excited about going I didn't bring enough close to last the weekend. My dad said it would be fine, but when we went fishing I fell off the boat into the water and got soaked from head to toe." Ezra finished the story, "And you didn't have anything to change into." Scott nodded, "Yeah, I had to sit by the fire in my pajamas in the middle of the afternoon waiting for everything to dry."

Ezra said, "I would have just gone swimming." Scott blushed and muttered, "I didn't know how to swim at the time and the water was too deep to wade in. Ever since then I've always double check what I pack." Ezra said, "Understandable" and went over to his bed rooting through his things for the book he was currently reading.

Scott knew he'd have to get up early the next morning so he went to bed before most of the other Cliffhangers, and for the first time in over a year he didn't have any nightmares. A loud crash of thunder caused Scott to sit up in bed, he looked outside to see a fierce lightning storm going on and groaned, "Great, just great." Scott looked around and saw that the noise had woken Auggie and Ezra as well. Auggie looked around and yawned saying, "I don't remember leaving a thunderstorm wake up call." Scott snorted as Peter came in Scott said, "We're not going are we?" Peter waved him off, "We'll wait a little while it should dissipate in a few hours."

Peter turned out to be right, by eight the worst of the storm had passed and he and Scott were driving back to California. It would take three hours to get to the hospital were Darien was staying in. Scott didn't really say much during the ride, he was excited and nervous at the same time. He felt like his mind was spinning and couldn't seem to focus on any specific thought for too long so he just listened to the radio and watched the scenery go by.

Peter didn't press Scott to speak because he could tell the young man needed time to think and get himself together. When they arrived at the hospital Scott felt surprised that the journey seemed to have gone faster than usual. Peter turned off the car and asked, "You ready?" Scoot took a deep breath and said, "As I'll ever be." Peter nodded and opened his door with Scott following. Martin was standing in the waiting room when they entered the hospital, he smiled at Scott who returned it and walked over to him.

Martin pulled Scott into a hug which he slowly returned after a few minutes Scott pulled away and his Dad gestured to a short red headed woman Scott hadn't noticed before, "Scott, Mr. Scarborough this is Ms. Welch she is from social service." Ms. Welch held out a small dainty hand, Scott shook it carefully half afraid he might break her wrist she was so frail looking, "It's nice to meet you I'm Scott Barringer." She nodded, "it's nice to meet you to and don't worry I don't break easily."

Scott gapped as she stepped away to shake hands with Peter Ms. Welch said, "It's something that I've seen before people naturally think I'm ill or have some sort of problem that makes me more sensitive than others when it's actually the opposite. Hello, I'm Lucy Welch." Peter shook her hand, "Peter Scarborough nice to meet you." Scott couldn't help saying, "do you double as a mind reader to?" Ms. Welch shrugged, "only during the renaissance festivals season." And turned to walk towards the elevator, Martin laughed and clapped Scott's left shoulder, "Let's get moving."

Scott nodded eagerly as Martin pushed the elevator button, "Just so everyone knows Darien is on the third floor E-wing." A few more people got onto the elevator as it closed, two got off on the second floor and one got off on the third with Scott and the others. Scott, Peter and Ms. Welch followed Martin as he turned to the left and started walking down a long hallway. Scott was surprised to see that the walls had been panted a soft green while most hospitals had plain white walls. After a few minutes Scott began to hear the sounds of babies crying, they turned a corner and found themselves in front of a large glass window. Behind the window were several rows of babies, some were crying, some were sleeping, and a few were just lying there looking around taking in the world that they had just come into Scott asked, "Is he in there?" Martin shook his head, "no, I asked the nurse to bring him to a private room so you could sit with him."

Scott grinned, "Thanks, I wanted to be alone with him, well as alone as I possibly can be." Martin smiled, "I understand, this way." He pointed to their right, Scott and the others followed him to a door about twenty feet from the large window Scott opened the door and saw a large male nurse standing next one of those plastic cart things that they used to move babies in the hospital. The nurse stepped aside as Scott walked over and saw his son lying there wrapped in a blue blanket, Scott carefully reached out a hand and ran it gently over Darien's head feeling his smooth black hair.

Darien shifted in his sleep then opened his eyes, "Hey kiddo." Martin walked up and put his hand on Darien's back, "You know who that is? That's your Daddy." Scott's face turned red, "Well you are." Scott shrugged, "I know, but I wasn't expecting to hear that." Martin said, "Well if it makes you uncomfortable." Scott shrugged, "I guess, I just wasn't expecting it." Scott moved his hand, "he's so small." Martin smiled, "That tends to happen, he looks a lot like you did as a baby."

Scott asked, "Really?" Martin nodded, "Absolutely, do you want to hold him?" Scott spluttered, "Ah, no, no I couldn't do that." Martin said, "Of course you can, hear sit down." He pointed to a chair sitting in the corner, Scott thought about it for a minute then he sat down. Martin picked Darien up and walked over, "hold out your arms." Scott followed his Dad's instructions and Martin carefully placed Darien in Scott's arms for the first time.

Scott wasn't quiet sure what to do, for a few moments he just sat there afraid that if he breathed too loudly he might drop Darien. Scott took a deep breath and tried to relax Darien blinked his large blue eyes and then began to look around Scott was feeling completely overwhelmed, "I've never done this before." Martin said, "Sure you have, you held your cousin Julie right after she was born."

Scott gave his dad a look, "That was four years ago and Julie's my second cousin not my child." Martin nodded, "It is a little different when it's your own baby." Scott turned to Ms. Welch and asked, "Where will he go for the trial? My lawyer said it could take weeks maybe even a month to settle everything and I don't think Darien can stay in the hospital that long." Scott was surprised when his Dad answered, "We talked to the judge and Elaine's lawyer they both agreed that as long as Ms. Welch checks in on things Darien can stay with Abigail Jensen and her husband do you remember them?"

Scott thought for a moment, he didn't always remember the people who worked with or for his father (especially since he'd been high when he'd met several of them), "She was on the board with you right?" Martin nodded, "Yes, Elaine knows her well and is willing to trust she won't leave with Darien. She and her husband are licensed foster parents who are more than capable of taking care of Darien. You, Elaine, and I will be allowed supervised visits and once the trial is over Darien can be picked up." Scott noticed that Martin didn't say 'we will pick up Darien' he had just said Darien would be picked up, he probably didn't want to get Scott's hopes up and at the same time didn't want to think about the other option any more than he needed to.

Scott understood that, he didn't want to think about Elaine getting custody either, in fact he was determined to keep it from happening no matter what. Scott sat holding Darien and absorbing the fact that he was holding his son, the reality of the situation hit him in a way that he hadn't experiences before. He felt protective of Darien and scared at the same time; scared for what might happen to Darien, scared of the responsibility he had to this little boy, and (probably the biggest one) scared of screwing up.

They had lunch around noon, Ms. Welch ordered in a sandwich because she wasn't allowed to leave Darien alone with any of them and Scott went down to the cafeteria with Peter and his Dad. Scott picked out some chicken fingers and fries and sat there eating quietly, at one point Peter went to the bathroom and Scott turned to Martin, "Dad I need you to do something for me."

Martin nodded, "If I can." Scott took a breath and looked around, "If we lose this case." Martin reached out and put a hand on Scott's arm, "We're not going to lose." Scott shrugged, "If we do, I don't want Darien to go with Elaine. I want you to promise me that if we lose the case you'll take Darien and you'll run." Martin said, "Scott I can't." Scott cut him off, "yes you can, you take Darien and you get as far away from here as you can. Go to Canada, go to Mexico, go to Never Never land, go anywhere, just don't stay here, Dad I need you to do this for me. No, I need you to do this for both of us, please." Martin bit his lip, "all right Scott I promise." Scott sighed in relief as Peter returned, "What'd I miss?"

Scott shrugged, "Nothing much." Peter looked disbelieving, "uh-huh" Scott bit into his fries and didn't say anything. After lunch they went back, Scott wanted to spend as much time with Darien as possible, they were only allowed to stay until three O'clock, and Scott couldn't help feeling it wasn't enough. Martin said they could have dinner later, but Peter said it would be better if they didn't, Scott thought it was because Peter was worried about what they had been talking about when he was gone.

As soon as they had started driving Peter asked, "You want to tell me what you were really talking about?" Scott sighed, "You asked me not to lie to you." Peter nodded, "So I won't just believe me when I tell you the less you know the better things will be." Peter snorted, "why doesn't that make me feel any better?" Scott sighed, "If we win the trial I promise I'll tell you, and if we lose you'll probably figure it out on your own."

Peter nodded, "so you were talking about Darien, let me guess, you asked your dad to make him disappear if you lost?" Scott said, "I have no idea what you are talking about, but now that you mention it that's not a bad idea." Peter sighed, "Right, if you do this you won't see Darien again or be able to convince the legal system you didn't do anything wrong."

Scott said, "I'm not saying I'm doing anything wrong, but as long as Darien isn't with Elaine I'll be happy." Peter pulled onto the shoulder and looked Scott in the eye, "Can you live with that?" Scott nodded, "If I have to I will." Peter sighed, he didn't agree with 'cheating the system' but he also knew that sometimes the system didn't do what it was supposed to do which is why he'd pulled strings to make sure that Scott was kept out of jail if he was convicted.

Peter nodded and turned the car back onto the road they didn't speak for the rest of the trip. Scott didn't know what was going to happen to him, but he felt relieved to think that no matter what Darien would be safe and protected and that's all that mattered.

a/n that's all for now please review.


	9. changes

Changes,

By the time Peter had gotten them back to Horizon dinner was well underway, Scott didn't feel very hungry, but Peter insisted that he eat something. Scott grabbed a few slices of pizza and an apple then he sat down with the rest of the cliffhangers. Kat was the first one to speak, "how are you doing?" Scott shrugged," Honestly, I don't know. It's like the whole thing's more real now, like everything has changed now that I've actually seen him." Nobody seemed to know what to say so they all just started eating again.

Scott didn't feel like saying anything else so he finished quickly and went back to his room to lay down. Scott spent most of the night just starring at the ceiling not really thinking of anything. The next morning seemed to pass in a haze for Scott, he didn't really know how he felt, it was like everything had just rushed back at him again. Scott spent a lot of time just thinking about the trial, Elaine, Darien, his Dad, but nothing seemed to make sense his thoughts were a jumble and he couldn't really seem to focus on any one particular thing.

After a while Scott eventually fell asleep, but he kept waking up throughout the night for no real reason. The next few days passed in a kind of fog, Scott felt restless and spent a lot of time doing extra work outdoors running errands from one building to another and picking up the tasks that the other students were reluctant to do. It felt good for him to put himself into something physical, it was a way for him to vent his feelings. The week after he'd seen Darien for the first time Scott found himself sitting upside down on a bench with his knees curled over where people normally rested their back and his head dangling in mid-air. He noticed a lot of funny looks, but nobody seemed to want to ask him what it was he was doing until a familiar shadow came across his face, "Have you finally lost whatever's left of your mind or is there some other reason you're sitting like that?" Scott didn't even bother looking up, "Hey Shelby, no I haven't lost my mind. I used to stare at the clouds a lot when I was a kid and needed to think so I thought I'd give it a try again."

Shelby sat down next to him (right side up), "have any luck yet?" Scott sighed, "No" then he pointed up at a particular cloud, "But if you look at that one from this angle it kind of looks like a Harley" Shelby gave a snort of laughter, "If you say so, how are you doing?" Scott swung himself up feeling a slight wave of dizziness as the blood went rushing out of his head, "I don't know, I feel confused mostly. I told my Dad that if things at the trial don't work out I want him to take Darien and go." Shelby raised an eyebrow, "go where?" Scott quipped, "Preferably a non-extraditional country." Shelby asked, "Do you really think it'll come to that?"

Scott sighed, "I hope not, but I've learned the hard way that life isn't fair and bad thing happen all too frequently. I don't want Elaine to get custody of Darien, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that." Scott swallowed, "That my son doesn't have to go through what I went through." Shelby pressed, "Even if it means you might go to jail because of it?" Scott didn't even hesitate, "Yes, Shelby if it were your sister in Darien's place wouldn't you do the same thing?"

Shelby bit her lip pensively after a minute she said, "Yes, that's why I stayed at home for as many years as I did, I figured that if I was around he'd leave Jess alone. Then after a while I just couldn't take it anymore and I had to leave." Scott nodded, he didn't ask Shelby what had prompted her to run away, he figured that if she wanted him to know she'd tell him herself. Besides it was probably one of those questions that was better off without an answer.

After a few minutes Scott said, "you, know I think the thing that bothers me most is other people finding out what happened. I didn't like telling social service the truth the first time around, but they told me that no one besides my family, Elaine, and the people here at Horizon would find out so I was able to deal by telling myself at least it wouldn't be headline news. Now with this trial I'm worried other people will know, I'm not going to stay here forever and I keep thinking of how people will treat me once I leave if they know everything. It's bad enough everyone I knew before sees me as a druggy and an alcoholic, but how will they act when they know about Elaine?" Shelby shrugged, "I don't know, but as long as your o.k. and Elaine's in jail where she belongs why should you care what other people think."

Scott said, "I know other people shouldn't bother me, but still I don't want everyone starring at me all the time, giving those, 'I'm so sorry looks' and treating me like I'm going to break if they breath too loud near me." Shelby nodded, "Yeah that does get annoying after a while. You could always just tell them to stuff it and walk away." Scott laughed, "At the very least the looks on their faces would be worth it." For the first time in weeks Scott felt much more at ease, Shelby reached over and squeezed his hand, "I've never been good with this type of thing, but I think things are going to be all right."

Scott raised an eyebrow, "Who are you and what have you done with Shelby?" Shelby laughed, she knew it was true she usually wasn't the type to be the voice of optimism, but she could tell Scott needed some reassurance and for him she could give it a shot. Scott smiled at her, "Thanks Shel." Shelby said "anytime" Without thinking Scott leaned forward and kissed Shelby, he was surprised that Shelby didn't pull away in fact she was responding in kind, Scott felt himself smile then he heard someone loudly clearing their throat from behind.

Scott jumped back as though he'd been scalded and turned around, "Peter, ah, um, hi is something wrong?" Scott could tell that Peter was more amused than angry, but he knew Peter had come to find him for a reason and Scott wasn't certain he'd like finding out what that reason was.


	10. Trial looms

The next step:

Scott felt his face turn red as Peter said, "Henry Walters is here he needs to speak with you." Scott felt him stomach drop, "what's going on?" Peter said, "I'll let him explain, but it's nothing too bad I promise." Scott nodded, as he turned back to Shelby Peter stepped away saying, "I'll just go over here and give you two a few moments, I'm sorry for interrupting you before." Scott's face went even redder and Shelby laughed. Shelby was never really the type to be embarrassed by her own behavior, and she always took great pleasure in Scott's humiliation.

As Peter stepped away Scott turned back to Shelby and stuck his tongue out at her, Shelby said, "Oh, that's _real_ mature, and they're gonna let you be responsible for a baby." Scott shrugged, "Hey, compared to some of the other parents out there I'm practically mother Theresa." Shelby nodded, "Right, and I'm Pope John Paul." Scott said, "I have to go." Shelby nodded, "I know." Then she leaned forward and kissed his cheek, "I'll see you later." "Later" Scott responded then he stood and walked towards Peter who was grinning knowingly.

Scott shot him a look, "what are you looking at?" Peter simply shrugged, "Nothing, it's nice to see you two together again." Scott said, "well, we, uh, I mean we never really agreed, but I suppose we are." Peter laughed, "Scott, you better stop now before you put your foot any further into your mouth." Scott rolled his eyes and they made their way to Peter's office in relative silence.

When they arrived Scott spotted Henry Walters sitting on one of the chairs in front of Peter's desk, he stood and shook Scott's hand again. Scott asked, "So what's going on?" Walters said, "Elaine has recovered from the birth and the doctors say she is fit to stand trial. The judge has set the date, October 1st, so we have about three weeks before it starts."

Scott stood there in shock not knowing what to say, on the one hand he was relieved that he wouldn't have to keep waiting to find out when the trial was going to begin. On the other hand he couldn't help the strong sense of dread at the idea of having to see Elaine again and going through the stress and difficulties that would undoubtedly come up because of a trial. Scott heard Peter's voice as though it were very far away, "Scott, Scott, are you all right?" Scott shook his head, "I just, I need a minute." Walters nodded and Scott stepped onto the balcony adjoining Peter's office, Scott leaned heavily on the large oak railing taking a deep breath. Scott leaned his head down resting it on the cool wood and wondered, rather morbidly, if the wood would break and send him crashing down to his death. Scott wasn't suicidal by any means, but he often found himself thinking strange thoughts like that.

As Scott steadied himself the door opened and Peter came out on to the balcony, Scott stood up and leaned back while still holding on to the rail as though it were the only thing keeping him from flying off into space. After a few minutes Scott said, "I shouldn't stay out here too long." It wasn't a question, but Peter answered anyway, "You can wait as long as you want." Scott nodded as he pulled his body closer to the railing then crouched down, Peter tried to lighten Scott's mood by saying, "But when you do come back inside you will have to leave the railing out here."

Scott gave a small smile and took several more deep breaths before he turned and went back in. Henry stood as they walked back in and Scott asked, "So what's going to happen?" Henry Walters sighed, "I won't lie to you Scott Elaine's lawyer is going to hit you hard and fast on the stand. The woman has a well earned reputation of being a shark and she will be ruthless with you. Remember Elaine has to prove that her version of the story is true and since you were the only other person who can testify to what happened." Scott sighed as he finished, "Then I'm the one they have to make look like a liar."

Henry nodded, "exactly, now I'm going to go over what she's likely to say, but I obviously can't think of everything. Just remember to keep you answers short, to the point, and whatever you do don't answer a question with another question unless you're sure of the answer." Scott nodded as he sat across from his lawyer, Peter gave the younger mans shoulder a gentle squeeze and then sat next to him Scott was going to need all the support he could get to get through this.

Henry started, "All right, now one of the first questions she will probably ask will be something like, "Mr. Barringer, if my client attacked you why did you send her love letters?"

Scott had answered this question before so he had no trouble immediately responding with the explanation he'd all ready given both his lawyer and Shelby.

Henry nodded his approval at Scott's response, "Mr. Barringer do you honestly expect us to believe that my client forced herself on you when she is nearly half your size?"

Scott wasn't sure how to answer this so he thought it over for a few minutes, "I know I should have done more to try to stop Elaine, but my parents raised me to believe that men shouldn't hit women or attack them physically. I guess in the back of my mind I was always worried about hurting her if I shoved her or punched her. Then there's the fact that she would have told my dad I'd hit her without why I'd hit her."

Henry said, "not bad, but you shouldn't say things like, 'I should have done more to try to stop her' it makes you sound guilty." Scott nodded and they continued. The trial prep went on for over an hour before Scott finally declared he'd had enough and wanted to stop. Henry said, "Very good Scott, you did much better than most adults do in their first run through, but remember it's going to be much harder in court." Scott nodded and gave a sarcastic, "No pressure." As Henry packed up his things and left, Peter waited a few minutes before saying, "I am very proud of you."

Scott felt a warmth rush through at hearing those words, no matter how many times Peter said it, it always made him feel better, "Thank you. It's just hard with everyone telling me not to be nervous and then they say, 'things will be much harder when you get to the trial so be prepared' it's just hard to reconcile the two. It reminds me of when I started school."

"School?" Peter asked. Scott sighed, "Both of my parents told me I should reach out to other kids (in less complicated language of course) and to be nice and treat people fairly. Then they'd say that no matter what not everyone was going to like me and some kids would be down right mean. That I needed to keep an eye out for bullies and trouble makers. It was confusing, and I wasn't really sure what to do, my first day of kindergarten I stood in a corner not talking to anyone for ten minutes before the teacher finally spotted me and pushed me into a play group with four other kids."

Peter laughed, "A lot of kids have that kind of problem parents tell them 'don't talk to strangers' then someone the parent knows but the child doesn't says hello and when the child doesn't answer they're punished for being rude." Scott snorted, "that's exactly how I feel like I'm being told two different things and they're both right and I don't know which way I'm supposed to go."

Peter nodded, "Just give it time, hopefully things will work out. Going through a trial is hard Scott. I've had a lot of kids here at Horizon suffer through the legal system and I can promise you it doesn't get any easier and neither does life." Scott sighed heavily, "I know, I just wish the world would slow down a little and let me catch my breath every now and then."

Peter answered quietly, "you're not the only one."

O.k. that's it for now next chap or two the trial starts reviews are welcome.


	11. a difficult beginning

The weeks leading up to the trial passed far too quickly for Scott, after a long discussion it had been decided that Peter would come with Scott and stay until the trial was over. Today was the day before they had to leave for California and Scott was finishing packing his things up, he didn't know how long the trial would take, but Henry had told him it would be at least a month so Scott packed as much as he could into his suitcase.

As usual Scott double checked everything as he packed to make sure he had everything he would need. He hadn't been away from Horizon for a long period of time since he started rehab. Scott wasn't sure how he felt about going back to California, he wanted to go home again, but he knew going back to his old house would bring back a lot of memories that he really didn't want to deal with right now. Scott kept picturing himself having a panic attack in the middle of the court room while he was testifying. He had even told Henry about his fears, but the lawyer had assured Scott that the judge and members of the court had been made aware of his past, they knew that he had been abused and were prepared to deal with any problems Scott might have because of that.

Despite the reassurances of his lawyer, his father, and Peter Scott still couldn't help feeling worried about freaking out in the middle of a court room full of strangers and his former step-mother. Of all the scenarios he could think up, the idea of having a break down of some kind in front of Elaine was probably the worst. Elaine had all ready seen Scott vulnerable in a way he had never wanted to be and he didn't want to add to her triumph by having a break down in front of her with others there to witness his humiliation.

Scott sighed heavily as he finished packing his things, the other Cliffhangers had all wished him good luck at the trial (in their own ways), but he still felt like he was going to throw up any minute. Scott heard someone opening the door, expecting to see Auggie or Ezra standing there he was surprised when he turned to see Peter standing in the doorway, "How do you feel?" Scott shook his head, "Like I'm going to explode." Peter walked towards him, "I know you're anxious, but try taking some deep breaths, and make sure you get plenty of sleep tonight and tomorrow it won't help anyone if you go into court exhausted and looking like you just fell out of a bad disaster movie." Scott laughed, Peter always seemed to have a way of making him smile and feel better, he wondered if it was something Peter had picked up from dealing with so many troubled teens over the years, some natural ability the man had, or a combination of the two.

Scott turned to Peter and said, "I like the idea of going back home, but I don't want to be in that house again. Even seeing my old room is going to be hard." Peter nodded, "I know, Scott you do need to go back home eventually to face you're demons, but I agree that it is a little soon for that." Scott nodded, "You know after Dad told me he believed me the first thing he did was ask if I wanted him to move while I was still here at Horizon. He was willing to buy a new house so I could get away from my memories of Elaine. I told him not to do it, I didn't want her to force us out of our house on top of everything else she's done." Peter smiled, "I think that was a good idea Scott, and I'm proud of you for not wanting to just run away and try to forget your problems by moving out of your old house." Scott shook his head, "Well, I think I have everything." Before Peter could answer a familiar voice spoke up from behind him, "You should, you've repacked that bag like 6 times, if I didn't know better I'd swear you had OCD." Scott turned and starred at Auggie, "No one asked you." Auggie shrugged, "well if I waited for people to ask me for my opinion before I said anything I'd never talk again."

Scott gave him a sly grin, "I personally don't see any problem with that." Peter had to fight back the urge to smile, "All right you two that's enough, I swear sometimes I feel more like I'm running a day care center than a rehabilitation facility for teens." Scott finished zipping up his suitcase and put it on the floor under his bed so nobody would accidentally trip over it if they had to get up in the night to use the bathroom or something. Peter asked, "Are you ready?" Scott knew he wasn't just talking about being packed, he took a deep breath and thought things over for a minute, was he really ready to go back to California even if it wasn't a permanent trip? Was he ready to go through a trial and face Elaine again? Scott bit his lower lip and finally said, "As I'll ever be."

Peter nodded, "I'll be around if you need to speak with me, but remember get to bed early we have to leave by 7." Scott nodded, "I know, I will." Peter stayed around for a few more minutes, the main reason he had come here was to make sure that Scott wasn't having any last minute problems with having to deal with all of the difficulties that were about to come his way. Scott seemed as well prepared for what he was about to go through as possible and Peter didn't want to smoother the younger man by hanging around him asking if everything was all right every ten minutes. Peter returned to his office and finished up some paper work and few phone calls to parents that he needed to take care of before he and Scott left. Peter didn't like the idea of leaving Horizon for an entire month, but he knew it was necessary no one else could go and Scott was definitely not ready to deal with this situation by himself.

After Peter left Scott sat down on his bed, he was trying to keep an positive attitude, but it his thoughts kept straying to the worst case scenario, Scott kept seeing Elaine holding Darien in her arms with a nasty smile on her face while Scott looked through prison bars knowing he would never see his son again. Finally he had enough, Scott stood and went for a walk, he needed to blow off some energy, maybe if he wore himself out it would be easier to sleep. Scott stepped out onto the wrap around balcony that was outside the dorm room and starting doing laps on it. This reminded him of football practice, the coach would have all the players do at least two laps around the field before they started going through plays.

Scott took several deep breaths as he continued walking around the building, he could still hear his coach shouting, "All right ladies move it! Come on pick it up, pick it up!" Scott felt a small smile stretch across his face as he finished his fourth lap around the balcony and turned to go back into his dorm and headed to sleep. Scott woke up several times that night, despite his attempts to wear himself out he still felt antsy. Scott finally gave up on trying to sleep anymore at 5:30 A.M., he took a long shower then dressed and went downstairs and had a muffin and some orange juice. The way his stomach was feeling he knew he couldn't take anything else.

Scott grabbed his bag and sat on the steps of the dorm trying not to worry about what would happen when he saw Elaine again. Scott shuddered as he pictured himself walking into court and seeing Elaine sitting there, smiling like she hadn't done anything wrong and then telling everyone that Scott was lying and she had been the real victim all along. Scott felt his stomach roll again and had to fight down the urge to vomit. Scott put his head between his knees and took several slow deep breaths trying to get himself under control. Eventually he heard Peter's voice, "Scott! Scott are you all right?" Scott swallowed, "Nerves" Peter sat next to him and put an arm around the younger man's shoulders, "Try focusing on something besides the trial think of something else anything else picture an object, event, or activity clearly in your mind. Try to see every detail of this thing whatever it is."

Scott pulled his head up and gave Peter a, 'are you serious' look Peter grinned, "I know it sounds strange maybe even a little crazy, but it actually helps. It's a technique I learned about when I was taking psychology classes to get the degree I needed to work here." Scott thought it sounded incredibly weird, but since nothing he could come up with seemed to work he decided to give it a shot, it wasn't like he had anything to lose anyway. Scott took a deep breath and tried to think of something, finally the image of his grandma's quilt came into his head. When Scott was five his grandma Rita (on his mom's side) had hand sewn a quilt for him, Scott slept with it every night and he still had it sitting in his closet at home. Considering the quilt was more than a decade old it was still holding up pretty well. Scott pictured it in his mind the quilt was made up of numerous blue swatches, his favorite color since he was young. Even though it was all blue the quilt wasn't a solid color there were several varying shades on the quilt and each swatch had a different pattern on it.

Scott felt his breathing settle as he remembered the checkered, stripped, and polka dotted patterns on his quilt. He felt himself calming down and his nerves easing as the image became clearer in his mind. Peter could tell when Scott had gotten control of himself and asked, "Ready to go now?" Scott nodded and stood up grabbing his suitcase as he did so, Scott followed Peter to the car they would be driving and slid his bag into the trunk before getting into the passengers seat. The drive passed in relative silence, Scott wasn't in the mood to talk and Peter could tell that this wasn't one of those situations where someone needed to be pushed into speaking, Scott needed time to think and get his head together.

Hghghghghghghghghghg

Scott couldn't help smiling as Peter turned onto his home street and started heading for his house. He thought that maybe this wouldn't be too bad after all, but when the house finally came into view Scott's stomach dropped as a rush of memories came flooding at him. He remembered the first time Elaine came into his room, he could hear her voice again, he could feel her hands on him. Scott tried picturing his quilt again, but the memories were too much for him. Peter noticed Scott's distress and grabbed his hand, "Breath Scott, just breath. Elaine is not here, you're safe" Peter knew that this time Scott wasn't suffering from a bad bought of nerves, he was on the edge of a full blow flash back and if Peter didn't pull him out of it fast Scott cold end up having a panic attack of some kind. Scott's breathing evened a little and Peter kept talking to him, "focus on my voice Scott take slow deep breaths, keep telling yourself that you are safe. Elaine isn't here and no one is going to hurt you." Peter finished pulling into the driveway and parked the car. Martin Barringer opened the door and started walking towards them, but Peter waved at him through the window to wait. Scott needed to get settled before anyone else interacted with him if Martin opened the door now Scott could have a bad reaction and be thrown into a panic attack.

Scott finally managed to settle himself down and Peter waved Martin over to let him open the car door. As soon as the door was opened Scott pulled his Dad into a hug, "it's good to see you again." Martin smiled as Peter got out of the drivers side, Martin held Scott tight and said, "I've taken care of everything." Scott nodded knowing what his Dad was talking about, "Thank you." Martin pulled away and said, "Scott why don't I grab you're bag there's a surprise for you in the house." Scott raised an eyebrow, "A surprise?" he couldn't help his curiosity getting the better of him as he walked inside wondering what his Dad was talking about. Peter followed Scott closely he wasn't supposed to let the younger man out of his site as long as they were away from Horizon. It was too easy for Scott to get his hands on drugs and alcohol out here and the younger man needed to be watched closely to make sure he didn't relapse.

Scott walked into the living room and saw a huge paper banner hanging over the couch that read, 'welcome home.' Scott smiled assuming this was what his dad had been talking about until someone jumped up from behind the couch and shouted, "Surprise!" Scott jumped back for a moment then he realized who it was, "Mom!" Peter stood back as Scott ran into the woman's arms. Peter had never met Scott's mother Susan Boyd and he took a moment to study her, like her son Sarah was fairly tall with blonde hair and dimples on her face, she and Scott looked a lot alike. Peter wasn't too surprised Scott and his Dad didn't look much like each other and it made sense that Scott would take after his mother.

As Scott finally pulled away from his mother she noticed that Peter was there, "Oh, Hello you must be Mr. Scarborough." Peter shook her hand saying, "Please just call me Peter." Martin walked in carrying their bags and Scott said, "Thanks Dad, do you need help with those?" Martin put them down in the entry way, "No, but you two can take them upstairs, I see you found your surprise." Scott grinned, "Well Mom's kind of hard to miss." Sarah smiled and ruffled her sons hair, "You didn't think I'd miss this, I'll even be staying for dinner."

Scott stepped back in shock, his parents had hardly been able to stand in the same room together without fighting since they divorced and the idea of his mother agreeing to stay in the same house with his father for several hours was a surprise for him. Scott turned back to his mom, "Really?" She nodded, "Yes now why don't you take your things upstairs." Scott looked back to his bags, he had almost forgotten they were there, "Oh yeah, here Peter I can show you to the guest room." Scott moved to pick up his bag and Martin said, "We can come with you I wanted to show you Darien's room." Scott raised an eyebrow, "You set up his room all ready?" Martin nodded, "Of course, I've been making it up since I petitioned for custody." Scott felt like smacking himself for not thinking of that.

Scott walked up the stairs with his mom while Peter followed with Martin, Scott told Sarah what life was like at Horizon and how he was doing in school. They had both talked over the phone and written e-mails to each other, but talking in person was different. As Scott stepped onto the landing Susan asked jokingly, "so any girlfriends we should know about?" Scott's face instantly went red as he thought about Shelby, he hadn't really told his parents about her because he was worried how they would react to learning he was dating a former prostitute/drug addict with authority issues. Scott bit his lip nervously and finally said, "Actually yes well sort of."

Martin looked confused, "Sort of?" Scott swallowed, "well she was a little shocked when she found out about Darien (and she certainly wasn't the only one) anyway she said she wanted some time to think things over, but we've been getting back on track the last few weeks." Scott was staring at his toes as though they were the most interesting thing he'd ever seen before, his Dad finally said, "You'll have to introduce her the next time we visit."

Scott looked up shocked, "Seriously, you're not mad?" Susan shook her head, "Why would we be?" Scott swallowed, "I don't know I thought you'd be mad I was dating someone at Horizon because they might get me into more trouble (if that's actually possible)." Martin answered, "Scott, we want you to recover, we want you to be happy and be able to lead as normal of a life as possible when you leave Horizon and if this girl will help you in that process than great. Just don't let it interfere with your work and rehab."

Scott turned to his mother who walked over and pecked his cheek, "I'm sure she's a wonderful person." Scott couldn't help grinning he noticed that Peter was standing back from them allowing as much space as he could for Scott to be with his family. He nodded in Scott's direction when he saw the look on the younger mans face. Martin walked over to a door off to their right and opened it, "This is the nursery." Scott stepped inside the room was done in a soft yellow, (Martin had picked a neutral color because he hadn't known until Darien was born if Elaine was having a girl or a boy) there were little bears holding balloons painted onto the yellow to add something more to the room. There was a dark brown crib that would convert into a larger bed when Darien got older, and a changing table that also doubled as a dresser.

The room had diapers, toys, and books set up on shelves with rocking chair in one corner and a soft gray carpet on the floor. Scott turned back to Martin, "Wow Dad this place looks great." Martin said, "thanks, I actually did a lot of the work myself." Scott looked skeptical, "without killing yourself or breaking anything." Susan snorted as Martin blushed and Peter fought the urge to laugh finally Martin spoke, "Yes." Scott snorted and turned to walk back down the hallway, two doors down from the nursery was the guest room (the master bedroom was between them). He opened the door for Peter, "This is the guest room." Peter walked in a put his bag down on the bed then he came out and turned to Scott's parents, "I'm sorry, but I have to search Scott's room before he can be allowed alone in it."

Scott's face turned red once again, his mother put her hands on her hips and asked in a harsh voice, "Is that really necessary?" Peter calmly explained, "Yes, Scott may have hidden drugs or something else in his room and they need to be removed so Scott won't be tempted to use them." Martin stiffened, "I don't exactly like the idea of you going through my sons room in my home." Scott decided to speak up before any arguments started, "It's all right, Peter's just doing his job." Scott turned and looked Peter right in the eye, "You have my permission." Peter nodded and walked in, Scott's breath caught as he saw his room again, a rush of memories crashed into him. Scott took several deep breaths and tried to calm down, he pictured his quilt again and slowly pulled himself out of the stream of thoughts. Scott could hear his Dad calling to him, "Scott, Scott, are you all right?" Scott took another deep breath before answering, "Yeah Dad I'm o.k. just a lot of bad memories."

Martin asked, "Do you need anything?" Scott shook his head, "I'll be o.k." Peter straightened up from his place on the floor where he'd been looking for things and pulled out a small bag, "Scott would you care to explain?" Scott flushed as he saw the bag of cocaine Peter was holding up. His mom sighed, "Oh, Scott." And his Dad just shook his head. Scott flushed again before answering, "I kept some in my room so that whenever Elaine came in I'd be prepared, it was just easier to handle everything when I was wasted, I wasn't sure if there was any left, it's probably gone bad by now anyways." Martin looked like he'd been kicked, Peter knew that the man was punishing himself for not believing Scott sooner and for what happened. Martin undoubtedly blamed himself for what his son had gone through, and judging by Susan's expression she felt the same way.

Dinner was a quiet affair afterwards Scott hugged his mom good-bye while Peter stood in the living room giving them as much privacy as he could. Scott didn't say much the rest of the night, he had too much on his mind to really make interesting conversation, both Peter and his dad had said, they understood and if Scott wanted to talk he just had to say the word.

When Scott went to be that night, he turned on the light for the first time since he was 9 he also went into his closet and pulled out his old quilt. Scott put the quilt up to his face and breathed in pretending he could still small his grandma on it, she had been the only one of his grandparents he'd ever known. Scott's grandfather on his mom's side had died of a stroke when Scott was three and his father's parents were killed in a car crash two years after Martin had graduated school, Scott had never met them. Scott smiled as he remembered Grandma Rita slipping him chocolate chip cookies whenever his parents backs were turned. He wrapped himself up in the quilt and went to bed hoping he'd be able to sleep through the night.

Scott was surprised he didn't have any nightmares about Elaine that night, although he did have one about showing up to court stark naked. Scott got up early the next morning and changed into the suit his dad had bought for him right after breakfast. Martin drove them to the courthouse, they all had to check in and then go through a metal detector. Henry was standing on the main floor waiting for them, he shook Scott's hand then Peter and Martin's, "Hello Scott, it's good to see you again, we're going up to room 217 (a/n I picked a number) are you ready?" Scott sighed, "I sure hope so." Henry nodded and said, "Well this way then."

Scott felt like he was going to throw up any second, his mom had promised to come to as much of the trial as she could, but being a doctor she was often called in at the last minute for some emergency or another. That was the main reason she and Martin had divorced, Martin didn't like always having his wife run out on him. Henry opened the door to the courtroom and Scott braced himself as best he could, sure enough there was Elaine, sitting in the front of the room wearing an expensive looking suit and smiling like she was posing for a picture.

Elaine winked at Scott without anyone seeing and Scott felt his knees start to wobble, the second he got to their table Scott put his head between his knees without even looking at the jury. Henry asked, "Are you all right?" while Martin rubbed Scott's back, Scott swallowed, "Just give me a minute." Peter said, "Scott just remember that she can't hurt you, say that to yourself over and over again. Try picturing something again." Scott nodded and finally sat up, "Can I have some water?" Henry poured him a glass, "Of course, here you go." Scott drank as a door in the front of the court room opened and a small man came out, he was about thirty, bald, with brown eyes and scar on top of his head. Scott wondered what had happened to cause the scar when the man spoke, "this court is now in session all rise for the honorable judge Theodore Harrison." Everyone stood as a tall black haired man with green eyes came in wearing a robe he sat and said, "You may be seated."

The judge spoke, "We are here today to hear to case of the people of San Francisco Vs. Elaine Mason, charges are rape, statutory rape, and sexual assault of a minor. Are all the interested parties present?"

Henry and Elaine's lawyer stood and said, "Yes your honor." Together then Henry said, "Henry Walters for the prosecution your honor."

Elaine's lawyer followed with, "Gabrielle Mitchell for the defense your honor."

The judge nodded his head, "Very good, we will now hear opening statements, Mr. Walters you may begin." Henry stood, "your honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury we are here today to face a serious and disturbing issue, as the jury in this case it is your duty to see the truth behind what happened and make certain that the guilty party is punished. You are going to hear a lot of testimony in the coming days, this trial is undoubtedly going to be a tennis match of 'he said' 'she said', and at times it may be difficult to tell who's lying and who isn't. Well I all ready know the truth, Ms. Mason will tell you that she was the victim here and that she didn't report Scott Barringer for supposed crimes because she didn't want to hurt him. In actuality Ms. Mason is the one who hurt Scott Barringer, she took advantage of Scott Barringer and she sexually assaulted him."

Scott swallowed heavily at those words, but tried to keep it from showing on his face as Henry continued, "Scott didn't report this because he was afraid that he would be accused of lying and that it would put a rift between him and his father. And when Scott Barringer finally reported the truth to the authorities he was told that there wasn't enough evidence to have the woman who assaulted him convicted. Ladies and gentlemen I beg of you please do not fail Mr. Barringer again, please believe him when he tells you that he was raped by his former step mother and please make sure that she can not hurt anyone else again. Thank you."

Henry sat down and Elaine's lawyer stood, Scott hadn't really looked at her before, she was a fairly short woman with a round face that looked slightly red as though she were recovering from an old sunburn and red hair that had a few streaks of gray running through it. She stood and began to speak, "Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury Scott Barringer is claiming he is the victim here, an innocent young man who was taken advantage of by an older, more experienced woman. Mr. Walters has asked you to believe the truth, and that is what I am also asking you. Believe the truth that my client didn't force herself on anyone, that Mr. Barringer it the attacker in this case and he didn't report the crime until he began rehab because he was trying to make excuses for his drug use. In reality Mr. Barringer raped my client, she did not report him because she knew that Scott would suffer if he were sent to jail and she didn't want to hurt him, but when he accused her my client realized that her former step son was a very troubled man who needed help and the only way for him to get it was to admit the truth or be confronted with it. Honestly Ladies and gentlemen do you believe that a 16 year old former football player was raped by a woman half his size and turned to drugs as a result. Come on now, who ever heard of something like that? Scott Barringer has gotten away with numerous crimes up until now don't continue to let him, don't give him permission to hurt someone else, find my client not guilty and make sure that Mr. Barringer is punished for his crimes thank you."

Elaine's lawyer sat back down and the judge nodded, "Very well let's begin, Mr. Walters please call your first witness." Henry stood, "the people call Martin Barringer to the stand." Scott wished his Dad good luck as Martin took the stand, Scott sighed as he thought to himself, 'here we go.' It was going to be a long couple of weeks.

a/n o.k. that's all for now this is the longest chapter I've ever written for this story I don't know if the rest will be this long, consider it a reward for the wait please review.


	12. testimony 1

Testimony 1

Martin was sworn in and took his place on the witness stand, Henry stood and walked towards him, "Mr. Barringer would you please tell us about the relationship you had with the defendant and the relationship that she had with your son, as far as you witnessed it?" Martin took a deep breath and said, "Everything started about six months after my first wife Susan and I divorced, Elaine had been working as a secretary in my office for a while and we had started talking to each other during breaks and spending time together as friends. After my divorce I wasn't a very pleasant person to be around, I was angry at everyone and didn't want to be around people even close friends I'd known for years. Elaine was one of the few people who was willing to brave the brunt of my temper and try to pull me out of the shell I was sinking into. "Scott could see the sorrow on his Dad's face and felt his heart clench, he knew how much Elaine had meant to Martin and how painful it was for Martin to realize what she had done. Martin's feelings for Elaine was one of the reasons Scott had taken so long to tell the truth, he remembered all too well what his parents had been like after the divorce, his mother had been depressed, crying all the time never wanting to go out and his Dad had been angry at everyone.

Scott had spent a lot of time in his room when he was staying with his Dad because Martin kept snapping at him for no reason. Then when Martin started dating Elaine some of that old spark had started to come back, at the same time his mom had started going out with friends again and both of his parents looked like they were doing much better. Elaine had helped Martin a lot, no matter what she had done afterwards she had at least started out as a positive force. Scott was pulled out of his memories as Martin continued, "Elaine helped me get past my divorce and we started dating. After about a month our relationship turned serious and I wanted her to meet my son to see how they would get along. Scott and Elaine got along well at first and eventually she met Susan as well, after we'd been dating for a little less than a year I asked Elaine to marry me. Scott was the best man at our wedding when he gave the toast he said, he wished us nothing but the best. Scott stayed with his mother for the next three weeks while Elaine and I went on our honeymoon and it looked like I was going to be able to make a new family with Elaine without losing my relationship with Scott or Susan. Despite our divorce Susan and I are still friends, Elaine encouraged me to continue with that and I was amazed. How many people would do that?"

Martin shook his head, "about a month and a half after that problems started to arise, one night I had to work overnight at work when I saw Scott the next day he was, different." Henry asked, "How so?" Martin struggled for a moment, "It's hard to describe he was tired, I could tell that right away, but there was something else wrong he was distant and agitated he seemed to be scared, angry, sad, and lost all at once. I asked him what was wrong several times, all he said was he hadn't slept well the night before, but I could tell it was something more. Over the next few days I tried to get him to open up to me, but every time I would bring it up Scott would brush me off, tell me it was nothing, or snap that it was none of my business. As time went on things got worse, Scott's behavior continued to deteriorate and one day I came home to find him passed out in his vomit. Scott had been drinking, Elaine, Susan, and I decided grounded him for it, but he kept acting out. Scott told us he had quit, but we knew that wasn't true. Scott started getting into trouble lying, doing drugs, his grades plummeted and he lost his place on the football team. Moreover, his attitude towards Elaine got worse he started calling her names, scank was the most common, but he also called her a bitch and a whore. One day I was picking up some clothes he'd left lying on the living room floor and a joint feel out that was when I knew that something had to be done. We had tried everything so I talked to Susan and we called the Horizon center, Scott was taken in and started the rehab program there. One day Mr. Scarburough called and asked Elaine and I to come up there, he said Scott had something he needed to talk to us about. I assumed at the time that Scott was going to apologize or something like that, but what he said that day was not an apology."

Martin paused again, "Scott told us he and Elaine had had sexual intercourse, he tried to explain that he hadn't gone into it willingly, but I didn't want to hear any of it. I just stormed out of the office and left. Elaine and I went back home and I tried to tell myself that Scott was lying that it wasn't true, but the more I thought about it the more it fit right. Scott didn't start having problems until after Elaine moved in, their relationship got worse, but Scott wanted to spend more time with me and his mother. Another reason I started to believe him was that I had gotten fairly good at telling when he was lying and when he wasn't and I could see in his eyes that this was the truth. I filed for divorce and the next time I saw Scott I told him I believed him, Elaine and I separated not long after she found out she was pregnant I petitioned for custody and then we found out Scott was the father of Elaine's child. It took me a long time to accept the truth about what happened to Scott I didn't want to believe it because I had brought Elaine into both of our lives and if she had done something terrible to him that meant it was my fault, but now I see that Elaine and Elaine alone is responsible for her actions and I want to se justice done for my son and my grandson."

Henry nodded, "Mr. Barringer did you ever actually see your ex-wife behave inappropriately towards your son?" Martin shook his head, "Of course not, if I had I would have divorced her much sooner and pressed charges." Henry said, "Very well no further questions."

Henry sat down, he had said before hand that he would let them tell the story themselves and ask questions to expand on a few issues, he didn't want to interrupt too much. Elaine's lawyer stood, "so you never noticed my client do anything harmful to your son?" Martin said, "no never." Ms. Mitchell nodded and said, "But your son was frequently hostile towards her, as you said he insulted her and treated her poorly always angry at her." Henry stood, "Objection is Ms. Mitchell simply going to ask Mr. Barringer to repeat his testimony once more?" Ms. Mitchell answered, "I'm getting to the point your honor." The judge said, "Well I suggest you do so quickly, Mr. Barringer you may answer." Martin said, "Yes, Scott was hostile towards Elaine after that night I had to stay over at work." Ms. Mitchell nodded, "so despite the fact that my client, your ex-wife never displayed any hostilities towards your son and despite the fact that she encouraged you to send your son to horizon you still believe she was the aggressor here despite the fact that there is no evidence prove it?"

Martin raised an eyebrow, "there is evidence, my grandson is proof of what Elaine did." Ms. Mitchell was ready for this she turned to the jury and said, "Your grandson is proof that Scott and my client had sex nothing more, there is no evidence showing that my client was the aggressor in the relationship." Even though it wasn't a question Martin couldn't help responding, "and you honestly think my 16 year old son repeatedly raped my wife without leaving any bruise, cuts, or other marks that I would have noticed?" Scott bit his lip as he heard Henry sigh he knew that the lawyer was thinking it was a bad idea for Martin to say that, Henry had warned both of them never to answer a question with another question. Still the damage was done and there was nothing they could do now. Ms. Mitchell turned back to Martin and said, "Well, if your sons accusations are true than you managed not to notice that your wife was sexually assaulting your son so it stands to reason you would not notice a reversal of the situation."

Martin sank back in his chair looking fairly diminished, he shot Scott and apologetic look and Scott nodded trying to tell his Dad he wasn't angry without saying it. Scott knew that he would probably do much worse on the stand than his father was. Ms. Mitchell finished, "well since you have no evidence to provide to either side I have no further questions for this witness." The judge dismissed Martin who sat back down next to Scott.

Henry stood and said, "Prosecution calls Peter Scarburough to the stand." Peter stood and walked to the witness stand, the bailiff handed him a bible and said, "Raise your right hand." Peter followed the instructions then the bailiff said, "Do you swear the testimony you are about to provide is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God?" Peter answered, "I do." The judge said, "You may be seated."

Peter took his place and Henry started, "now Mr. Scarborough I would like you to tell us about the incident that occurred on Scott's first day in Horizon." Scott felt his face go red as he remembered, Peter telling the jury that he'd broken into someone's home, trashed their stuff, and attacked his counselor and a cop probably wasn't going to make him look good in their eyes. Peter said, "Scott was with one of our councilors, they were doing a football play and Scott ran around him into the woods, the councilor chased after Scott, but was unable to catch him. I went out on my bike to look for him and as I was looking I ran into one of the officers from the sheriffs department, eventually we found Scott in a private home he'd broken into. There were things lying broken on the floor and Scott was in an upstairs bedroom he had broken several things and was holding a bat which he used to break a vase or glass object of some kind in front of us."

Scott felt his face turn red as every member of the jury turned to stare at him, he tried to ignore their looks by starring at the wall behind the judge, but he couldn't help feeling like their eyes were still on him and Peter continued, "When I tried to talk to Scott he'd shouted that he didn't want to talk and swung the bat at me, he didn't make contact. I started to talk him down and explained to him that coming with me was better than going with the cops, eventually Scott broke down and begged me not to send him home. He never said what the problem was, but I could tell it was bad Scott kept saying, 'it wasn't my fault' he was crying and very upset. I eventually got him to calm down and come back. I convinced Frank to let him stay at Horizon despite the rules that if someone ran off they would be let go and Frank agreed. With a little help we got Scott off with the criminal charges and he started his some time later he told me that his step mother had sexually abused him and after a few counseling sessions to prepare him I scheduled a meeting with his father and step-mother. Mr. Barringer was upset, but eventually he came around, as a counselor it was my legal obligation to call social services which I did, but they said there wasn't enough evidence to prove Scott was telling the truth."

Henry asked, "Did you believe my client Mr. Scarborough?" Peter answered without a moments hesitation, "Yes, I did." Henry asked, "Why? My clients father had told you Scott had been lying to them for a while and I am sure many teens who go to Horizon make up stories about their real home lives so how did you know Scott was telling you the truth?"

Peter answered, "I know because a lot of the kids who come to Horizon lie and after a while you learn to tell the difference between when a child is lying and when they are not. Also, there was too much of a coincidence that Scott didn't start having problems until after his step mother had moved in. I believed him then and I still do now." Peter caught Scott's eye and smiled, Scott grinned back as Henry said, "No further questions."

Elaine's lawyer stood, "Now Mr. Scarborough you have admitted that you convinced your employer to allow Scott to stay at mt. Horizon despite the fact that he broke the rules and any other students would have been sent home or to a separate facility." Peter said, "Well actually that isn't true, we have bent rules at Horizon before for students with similar behavior patterns as Scott. At Horizon we know that the best place for a troubled teen isn't always lock up and in some cases that can make a bad problem even worse. Scott isn't the only student we have made an exception for at Horizon the school is there to help troubled teens and in a few special cases like Scott's we have bent the rules before."

Ms. Mithcell nodded, "I see so rules don't really matter to you?" Peter shook his head, "Rules do matter and they are important, but you can not judge everyone by the same standard for example stealing is illegal, but a starving child caught stealing food obviously wouldn't be punished as harshly as a man who broke into a liquor store and stole three cases of scotch." Ms. Mitchell added, "Still, you are emotionally attached to Mr. Barringer are you not?" Peter leveled his eyes at her, "Ms. Mithcell I assure you that there isn't a single student who has come to Horizon I haven't been emotionally attached to." Ms. Mithcell pushed, "But Scott Barrigner seems to be of particular interest to you isn't that so?" Henry stood, "Objection relevance?" the judge said, "Make your point Ms. Mithcell or move it along." Ms. Mitchell turned back to Peter, "You have made some other concessions for Scott as well haven't you?" Peter looked confused, "I'm not sure what you mean." Ms. Mithcell turned around and picked up a folder off the table, "Then let me refresh your memory, I have here a log of calls you made to various legal officials regarding Mr. Barringer. Apparently you were making arrangements for Mr. Barringer to be returned to Horizon should he be found guilty of rape."

Scott' had to fight to keep his jaw from dropping, Peter also looked truly shocked, but he still managed to answer, "Yes because I don't think prison is the best place for Scott the main reason being he is only a teenager and being placed into a correctional facility with adults who are all older and stronger than he is could get him killed." Ms. Mitchell said, "So if you're willing to manipulate the system to save him from jail how do we know you're not doing the same thing right now." Peter said, "Because there is a difference between working within the system to see to it that justice is not taken too far and another to outright lie and deny the truth." Ms. Mitchell said, "It seems like splitting hairs to me." Henry stood, "Objection." Ms. Mitchell sat, "Nothing further your honor." The judge banged his gabble, "The witness is excused." Peter went back to sit with them and Scott felt his stomach start to churn again, this was not going well.

A/n that's all for now Scott and Elaine will each have their own chap for testimony (though I may combine the two) for now please review.


	13. Scott's story

Testimony 2

a/n here's the next chap I changed Elaine's lawyers last named to Mitchell because I didn't realize I had given her the same last name as Elaine and thought it would be too confusing.

There were not many more testimony's that first day, a few of Scott's old teachers and his coach came to testify as did the doctor who'd given Scott a physical on his arrival at Horizon. Of course there were no obvious physical findings of sexual assault when Scott was given the examine because it would have been reported immediately. Elaine's lawyer hit all of the witnesses hard and by the time the trial had taken a break for the day Scott was really starting to hate her.

After testimony ended Henry took them to a near by empty office were they could talk briefly he stood and said, "All right that wasn't too bad." Scott looked at his lawyer like the man was completely insane, "Not too bad, were you watching the same trial I was or are you naturally a ridiculously optimistic person?" Martin snapped, "Scott there's no need for sarcasm or nasty remarks Henry is doing the best he can. I know you're feeling frustrated and to be honest so am I, but Henry is doing the best he can and there's no reason for you to take out your anger on him he hasn't done anything wrong."

Scott turned to Henry, "I'm sorry, my dad's right this isn't your fault." Henry gave him a forgiving smile, "It's all right, believe me this isn't the first time a client has snapped at me, I had one guy who broke my nose when he lost a significant amount of his estate in a divorce settlement." Scott grinned feeling his mood brighten slightly and Henry picked up where he'd started, "All right now Scott remember you can't have outbursts in the courtroom." Scott nodded fighting the urge to roll his eyes, he'd heard this at least a dozen times before, but didn't say anything else as Henry continued, "Now, tomorrow you testify and then Ms. Mitchell will began her case. Best case scenario this will be over I just over a week."

Scott could sense there was more, "But that won't be the end of it will it?" Henry sighed and sat back down saying, "Maybe and maybe not, I'll be putting in a request to have Elaine's parental right terminated if she's convicted and I will also file for a restraining order so that when she is released from prison she won't be allowed near you or Darien, but there is no garauntee the judge will grant those motions and Ms. Mitchell will probably appeal even if he does."

Scott groaned, "So this could go on for years?" Henry shook his head, "No, it's unlikely an appeal will be granted if Elaine is convicted, the most that they could do would be applying for custody or visitation rights after Elaine gets out of jail. Scott narrowed his eyes and said, "Over my dead body." Henry shook his head, "Don't worry that won't be necessary."

Scott asked, "Isn't there some law that says that if you just prove Elaine and I had sex it's enough to convict her? And if we show she's guilty of rape she gets life?" Henry sighed, "Well yes and no, there is a law stating that proven intercourse with a minor is enough for a conviction, but what you have to understand is that there are exceptions to every rule (even those in the legal books). There have been numerous cases of minors who have raped or sexually assaulted adults without leaving evidence and in some cases innocent people have been sent to prison for years on end having done nothing wrong. The judge prosecuting this case doesn't want to see that happen and as I told you before Elaine's lawyer is very good which is why we have to go through this trial. Now as for Elaine getting life in prison for that to happen you would have to have been fourteen years of age or under at the time of sexual contact you were fifteen when Elaine and your father married and by your own testimony nearly sixteen the first time she touched you sexually." Scott scowled, "So Elaine gets off on a technicality."

Henry gave Scott a pointed look, "no she won't she's going to be convicted of rape and statutory rape if she gets convicted of both she'll be in jail for at least fifteen years Now Scott you testify tomorrow so try to get plenty of sleep tonight and remember what we talked about."

Scott nodded and they all left, dinner that night was a quiet affair no one really had much to say, Scott was glad that no one was reassuring him that everything was going to be all right. Scott appreciated the support, but he was a little tired of being told the same things over and over again. Scott didn't sleep much that night, he it took him hours to finally fall asleep and once he did he slept very lightly so every little noise woke him up. When Scott woke up the next morning he was feeling tired and tried to wake himself up with a cold shower. He went down for breakfast and Peter, "Can I have some coffee please?"

Martin started poring Scott a cup without even thinking about it, Peter nodded to show Scott it was o.k., normally kids staying at Horizon didn't have coffee because of the concern that the drink would have an adverse reaction to the drugs that were circulating out of their system and because the councilors didn't want the kids to be thrown off by having any, but Peter knew Scott had been off drugs long enough for there to be no adverse reactions and he would remind Scott that this was a special case.

They arrived at court early again, this time Susan was there to meet them, she knew that today would be hard for Scott so she'd arranged to have the day off to come and support him. Scott hugged his mom before they all sat down and the trial began, there were a few people who were supposed to testify before Scott, his old coach who told the jury about Scott's behavior changes after Elaine started to live at his house. The doctor who had given Scott his strip search and medical examination when he had first arrived at Horizon, when the doctor was on Elaine's lawyer made sure to push home the fact that Scott had no signs of restraint marks, serious injuries, or even bruising when he first arrived. The judge called a break for lunch and Scott to a short nap after he'd eaten to help clear his head then it was time to testify.

Henry stood and said, "I call Scott Barringer to the stand." Scott took a deep breath as his Dad, Mom, and Peter whispered, "good luck." Then he stood and went to the stand, the bailiff held out a bible that Scott put his right hand on then the bailiff said, "Do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to provide is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God?"

Scott answered, "I do." The judge said, "You may be seated." Scott took a seat trying not to fidget or sit too stiffly because Henry said that sings of nervousness can make people look guilty. Henry stood and said, "Hello Scott." Scott smiled relaxing a little as Henry continued, just as they had practiced in Peter's office, "Scott as you know the defendant Elaine Mason has recently given birth to a baby boy that is scientifically confirmed as yours." Scott nodded as Henry turned to the jury, "Now, Ms. Mason claims that you were the aggressor in this encounter is this true?"

Scott said, "No, it isn't." Henry said, "Would you please describe your relationship with Ms. Mason from the beginning?" Scott looked over at Elaine, she was sitting at the defense table like she didn't have a care in the world, there was a cocky smirk on her face as though she believed that Scott would never tell the truth, (or if he did the jury would never believe it). Elaine sat up straight looking like she had all ready been acquitted, and Scott was surprised to realize that instead of being afraid like he had expected to be when it came time for his testimony instead he was pissed and what's more he was determined to see to it that he did everything he could to make Elaine pay for her crimes.

Scott returned Elaine's gaze without showing an ounce of fear and began to speak, "The first time I met Elaine was about a month after she and my Dad started dating as he said, when I first met her she seemed all right and by the time Elaine and dad were married I thought she was a decent person and I was willing to get to know her better, but from the time she moved in it was clear that there was more on her mind than simply being friends or anything like that."

Henry asked, "What do you mean by that?" Scott sighed heavily thinking for a moment how to put it in words, "about a month after Elaine moved in I was out swimming in our pool Elaine was out there too getting a tan, she stood up to get something from the house and when I got out of the pool she looked me over." Henry prompted, "Can you be more specific about that?"

Scott said, "She checked me out for lack of a better term." Elaine's lawyer stood, "Objection!" Henry turned to the judge, "Your honor Mr. Barringer is testifying to his observations of the event there is nothing to object to." The judge nodded, "Agreed, overruled and Ms. Mitchell I suggest you take care you're skating on thing ice." Ms. Mitchell sat back in her chair and Scott had to fit the urge to smirk at her.

Henry turned to Scott and asked, "Did you speak to your step mother about the incident at the pool?" Scott shook his head, "no, I thought it was a one time thing and that if I just ignored the problem then it would go away, but that didn't happen." Henry said, "Would you please describe what did happen?" Scott continued, "A month later my Dad had to stay at the office overnight, it was something that hadn't happened since he and Elaine got married, but it had happened a lot before so it wasn't a big deal for me. That night there was a bad storm outside heavy rain, thunder and lighting it was a hard night. Elaine came into my room and asked to sleep in my bed; she said she was afraid of the storm. I thought it was kind of weird so at first I said 'no' and I told her it would make me uncomfortable, but she didn't listen she just kept saying, 'please Scotty' over and over again."

Scott paused as the memories rushed through him even now it was hard to talk about this, Scott didn't dare look at the jury he didn't want to see the looks on their faces afraid of being confronted with pity, disgust, or disbelief. Scott took a deep breath trying to focus and continued, "I didn't want Elaine in my bed, but she refused to leave and she just kept asking over and over again it finally I said yes just to get her to stop." Henry asked, "So you allowed her into your bed?" Scott said, "Yes, but I didn't really want her there I just let her lay down so she would stop bothering me."

Henry asked, "What happened next?" Scott's face went slightly red, "Elaine climbed into my bed, I turned my back to her and tried to forget she was there then she put her hand on my torso and started stroking my stomach, I asked her what she was doing and she said and I tried to just go to sleep right away and forget she was there. After a few seconds she put her hand across my torso and started stroking my stomach, I asked her what she was doing. She said, that she knew I wanted her that she'd seen the way I was looking at her."

Scott paused before going on, "I started to freak out I jumped out of bed and asked what the hell she was talking about, she was my father's wife and I hadn't been doing any of those things. Then she started laughing and saying there was no need for me to be coy that my Dad wasn't home and we didn't have to worry about anything. I told her to go back to her room, then she stood up and walked over to me (I was standing next to the wall) she kissed me. I pushed her away and told her to stop, but she said no. I said I'd tell my Dad, but she said he wouldn't believe me that he'd say it was my fault and that he'd send me away and never want to see me again. She said she was his wife, he loved her and he'd believe her no matter what, but he wouldn't believe me, then she put her hand down my pants. I became aroused when she did this she said that it proved I liked what she was doing and kissed me again she kept touching me until I came."

Scott felt himself flush once more saying this in Peter's offices with just Henry and Peter there was one thing, doing it in court in front of a room of strangers was entirely different, "She kissed me and went back to her room and I, I didn't know what to do, I couldn't think I just remember feeling so dirty. I threw my clothes in the washing machine and ran into the bathroom and spent the next hour in the shower. Elaine came back into my room two weeks after that, that was the first time we had sex, every time she came into my room Elaine said that it would be the last time, but it never was."

Henry asked, "And how many times did you and Ms. Mason have intercourse?" Scott said, "I don't know, I never counted, but it became pretty frequent, whenever my dad was out of town or staying late at work and especially nights when there was bad weather. I suppose if I had to guess I would say that it started out once or twice a month and moved on to almost once a week after a certain point."

Henry fought the urge to shake his head in disgust this woman was truly sick, Henry asked, "did Ms. Mason ever physically restrain you hold your arms down or tie you to the bed?" Scott said, "No, but she threatened that me that if I ever tried to tell my father what was going on she'd say it was my fault and my dad would believe her."

Henry asked, "And you believed her?" Scott sighed, "Yes, I had never heard of a man being raped before Elaine started coming into my bed and I was afraid of what telling him the truth would do to the relationship I had with my Dad."

Henry asked, "well why not ask to go live with your mother?" Scott turned to look at his parents who both looked ashamed, "I tried, but my parents thought that I wanted to leave because I blamed Elaine for the divorce and they didn't want me running to other persons house every time I had a problem. They had both seen children of divorce who went back and forth between their parents because they were angry or fighting with one and didn't want to be in the same house and they didn't want me doing something like that. They were just doing what they thought was best for me."

Henry asked, "Why not tell your coach or one of your teachers?" Scott sighed, "Like I said I didn't think anyone would believe me." Henry turned and walked back across the courtroom as he asked, "I see, and was it Ms. Mason's actions that caused you to begin using drugs?" Ms. Mitchell stood, "Objection leading." The judge said, "Sustained." And Henry said, "I'll rephrase your honor, how did Ms. Mason's actions affect you Mr. Barringer?"

Scott swallowed hard before he answered, "I wasn't doing as well in school as I had been before Elaine started coming into my room. I just couldn't concentrate on anything, and I had trouble sleeping because even when Elaine wasn't coming into my room I'd have nightmares about it, I still do as a matter of fact. About three months after Elaine started coming into my room I started using drugs and drinking as well. My Dad was going out of town on this conference for work and he wouldn't be back for two weeks. I knew Elaine was going to be coming after me again, and didn't think I could take it. I had heard of a few kids at school, who sold drugs, I told myself it was just going to be this one time. I found this kid and I bought some crack from him, that night Elaine and I had sex. When she left I smoked the drugs, they made me feel better, kind of numb. It didn't hurt as much when I used them so I kept on using them, eventually I started drinking to (I'm not sure when)."

Henry asked, "Did Ms. Mason ever provide you with any of the drugs or alcohol you used during this time?" Scott shook his head, "No she didn't, I don't think she even knew I was doing drugs until one night when she and my dad came home and saw me was passed out on the kitchen floor." Scott turned slightly red when he talked about this, it was not a pleasant memory. Henry nodded, "I see, and did Ms. Mason ever do anything to physically restrain you when she sexually assaulted you."

Ms. Mitchell and Elaine both looked furious when Henry used the phrase, 'sexually assaulted', but there was nothing they could do about it. Scott had to fight the urge to grin at the angry look on Elaine's face, she reminded Scott of one of those cartoons were the character turns all red in the face and then smoke starts coming out of their ears. Scott turned to Henry and said, "No she never restrained me."

Henry walked back to the desk and picked up a packet of papers, this was the part Scott had been dreading, the letters, "Now Mr. Barringer as you aware when DCFS originally investigated your claims towards Ms. Mason's actions they decided not to pursue the case because of these letter that you wrote to her."

Scott sighed, "Yes." Henry said, "And you do not deny that you wrote these letters (which the jury has all ready read over), that speak fondly of Ms. Mason?" Scott sat up straighter, "No I don't deny that I wrote those." Henry turned to the jury looking confused, "But why would you write complementary letters to her if she was abusing you?"

Scott answered, "I wrote those letters when I first went to Horizon, because I was afraid." Henry prompted, "Afraid of what?" Scott took a deep breath remembering what Shelby and Peter had told him, "At that time my Dad wasn't around much, he was either working or with Elaine and my mom and I didn't see each other very regularly. She had the right to visit me, but with her hospital schedule it was hard to make time and I felt like if what Elaine and I had wasn't real, wasn't something that I could hold onto then I didn't have anything and I didn't want to be alone I was afraid of not having anyone who really cared about me around and so I wrote those to Elaine."

Henry nodded, "Do you still feel that way?" Scott shook his head, "No, I my parents and I have worked hard to re-establish our relationship with each other and I stopped writing to Elaine after my first month at Horizon. I don't feel anything towards Elaine anymore." Henry sat down, "No further questions at this time."

Henry sat down and Ms. Mitchell stood up, Scott braced himself for what was about to come she turned to him and asked, "Mr. Barringer how tall are you?" Scott blinked in surprise, but answered, "six and a half feet." Ms. Mitchell asked, "And how much do you weigh?" Scott said, "About 180 pounds." Henry stood, "Objection your honor is this going anywhere?" Ms. Mitchell said, "I'm getting there your honor." The judge said, "Get there quickly."

Ms. Mitchell pointed at Elaine, "And how tall would you say my client is." Scott shrugged, "Well I'm not sure it's not like I ever took out a tape measure and checked." A few jury members snickered as Scott continued, "But if I have to guess I'd say maybe five, five." Ms. Mitchell nodded, "And how much would you say she weighs?" Scott tilted his head a little, "About 130 pounds or so."

Ms. Mitchell said, "In point of fact my client is five foot six and weighs 125 pounds, and you're asking us to believe that a woman nearly a foot shorter than you are who weighs seventy five pounds less than you do forced herself on you and you were unable to do anything about it?"

Scott answered, "My parents always raised me to believe that I shouldn't hit girls, that I shouldn't hurt women in anyway and I was afraid that if I did push Elaine off me or something like that she would get hurt. Plus she told me that if I ever did do something like that she'd tell my father I was becoming physically violent towards her and he would have me sent to a lock-up facility."

Ms. Mitchell looked at him and said in a sneering tone, "well how convenient." Scott didn't think there was anything convenient about what had happened, but he didn't say anything. Ms. Mitchell pressed, "Mr. Barringer you claim that my client sexually abused you and yet you never told anyone before you entered mt. Horizon why is that?"

Scott said, "I all ready explained that I was afraid to tell anyone because I didn't think they'd believe me." Ms. Mitchell sneered, "There wasn't one person who you thought would believe you not one person who you ever trusted with this terrible secret?" Scott said, "No no one." Ms. Mitchell pushed, "And there is no physical evidence to prove your story." Scott shot back, "You don't think the fact that Elaine gave birth to my son is physical evidence enough?"

Ms. Mitchell angrily shot back, "No, I don't because Alfalfa's existence only proves that you and my client had sex not that she raped you as you are claiming. Mr. Barringer you have repeatedly lied to your parents and teachers about your drug use and drinking habits isn't that so." Scott said, "Yes I did." Ms. Mitchell went on "And if as you claim my client assaulted you, you never told anyone about it and probably lied repeatedly about your relationship with her isn't that also correct?" Scott said, "Yes it is."

Ms. Mitchell spread her hands out and asked, "So if you have been so dishonest in the past why should anyone believe what you are saying now?" Scott thought for a moment before answering, "Because I didn't start doing those things until Elaine came into my life, so it stands to reason that she is what caused all the lying in the first place and now that she isn't a part of my life I have no reason to lie." Scott turned to see his parents and Peter smiling proudly at him that was a good answer.

Ms. Mitchell however wasn't going to give in that easily "Mr. Barringer you are an only child correct?" Scoot crinkled his eyebrows and said, "Yes." Ms. Mitchell asked, "And you were captain of the football team as well?" Scott said, "Yes" Again not sure where this was going. Ms. Mitchell turned to the jury, "So I imagine you haven't heard the word 'no' very often." Scott blinked, "Actually I have, my parents always gave me what I needed, but they didn't really spoil me." Ms. Mitchell spoke in a tone of disbelief, "Of course they didn't." Henry stood, "Your honor is Ms. Mitchell going to get to the point of all this?"

The judge gave her a piercing look and said, "Ms. Mitchell move it along." She turned back to Scott saying, "So if you were sexually attracted to my client and she rejected your advances as someone who was used to getting any girl he wanted and having all the toys and clothes he needed that rejection would be difficult for you to accept wouldn't it?"

Scott fought the urge to make a face at this, "I never made sexual advances towards Elaine and I have never been sexually attracted to her." Ms. Mitchell raised an eyebrow, "really so you're saying that you were never once even slightly sexually interested in my client in any way?"

Scott really wanted to shout himself horse at her for saying that, but he answered calmly, "No I wasn't. I'm not saying Elaine isn't pretty because she is, but she is my father's wife and she's also over ten years older than I am so no I have never been attracted to her and I have never made advances towards her."

Ms. Mitchell pushed, "So you are the victim of some terrible crime, manipulated by an older woman is that what you're saying?" Scott said, "Yes, that's what happened." Ms. Mitchell picked up the stack of letters Henry had put down, "And yet you wrote these to my client" To Scott's horror she picked one out and started to read:

_Dear Elaine,_

_I miss you so much, I hate that you and Dad went on a trip without me, even if it is for a few days. It's so quiet here with no one else around this house is like an empty forest. I wish you would come home soon, it's hard here without you around, I can't wait to see you again._

Scott went red hearing this, "I all ready explained." Ms. Mitchell cut him off, "Oh yes you were lonely and sad and desperate for any kind of human connection that's right how silly of me to forget." Henry stood, "objection there's no need for sarcasm." The judge said, "Sustained." Ms. Mitchell turned to the jury, "Mr. Barringer claims that he is the victim of a crime and yet he wrote my client love letters. He claims that she forced herself on him when she is half his size, and what's more he doesn't have any evidence to prove any of these claims. I think we can all agree that Mr. Barringer has some serious issues and he has repeatedly lied about his actions in the past, but he's asking us to believe him now simply because my client is no longer a part of his life I think that we can all agree that isn't nearly good enough to prove he's telling the truth. No further questions."

The judge turned to Scott, "The witness my step down." Scott walked back to the table and sat down trying to fight the urge to be ill. Henry stood, "Your honor I would like to recall Peter Scarburough." The judge said, "Very well." Peter stood and took the stand again, the judge said, "Mr. Scaburough you realize you are still under oath." Peter answered, "Yes your honor."

Henry stood, "Mr. Scarborough how long have you worked with troubled youths?" Peter answered approximately six years." Henry asked, "And in that time you have seen numerous teenagers who were abused by adults in their lives haven't you?" Peter said, "unfortunately yes, child abuse is a sad truth." Henry nodded, "And have any of the teens you've dealt with over the years ever displayed any affection for those who abused them?"

Peter said, "Yes, many children will often children will often feel that even though someone abuses them that person still has some kind of positive feelings for them. Teens will often look for the reasons the abuser gave for the treatment, they were too slow or they made them angry or something of that nature. I have seen many teens who had a strong attachment to people who did awful things to them." Henry picked up the letters again, "So it wouldn't be unusual for a victim of abuse to write letters like this to their abuser." Peter said, "Not at all." Henry sat back down, "No further questions."

Ms. Mitchell stood, "Mr. Scarburough are you a licensed psychiatrist?" Peter sighed, "No, I have taken several psychology courses, but I do not have a degree or a license in that area." Ms. Mitchell sat back down, "No further questions" The judge said, "the witness is excused we will reconvene tomorrow at 10 A.M." Scott let out a sigh of relief as Elaine and her lawyer left somehow he felt as though a terrible burden had been lifted off his shoulders now that he'd finally said his piece. Whatever happened he knew that being able to tell the truth in court had helped him more than he would have expected it to and would make moving on that much easier when the time came.

A/n o.k several people have complained about the legalities of this story, check out this website it is just one of several that details the sad nature or statutory rape trials and convictions.

/Administration/News_

Also, if this trial isn't exactly right, I'm sorry, but you'll just have to live with it. Please review.

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	14. Elaine

Elaine:

As soon as they left the courtroom Scott made his way to a bench sitting off to the side out of the way of foot traffic and put his head between his needs taking deep breaths. Peter and his parents rushed over to him, Susan and martin each wrapped an arm around Scott's shoulders and Peter knelt in front of him taking his hands. Scott swallowed and said, "You may wish to move I can not garauntee I won't throw-up on you."

Peter nodded, "I'll risk it, it's not like it would be the first time that's happened." Scott gave him a shaky smile.

Henry stepped up behind them and said, "Scott you did wonderfully and the worst is behind you now."

Scott asked, "Well, can't Elaine's lawyer recall me the way you recalled Peter?"

Henry nodded, "Yes, but it's unlikely to be as intense as it was today if she does, and just do what you did today keep calm and answer honestly."

Scott felt his hands shaking, Peter took the boys hands in his, he knew that Scott was struggling and if the young man didn't get control of himself he could have a panic attack so he said calmly, "Scott I want you to take a deep breath and close your eyes like I taught you."

Scot followed Peter's instructions as his mom gently rubbed a hand along his back and his kept a firm grasp on Scott's right shoulder whispering comfortingly into his sons' ear. After a few minutes Scott felt himself began to calm down, his body wasn't shaking anymore and he felt a little better. Finally Scott stood and said, "I'll be all right, but I need to get out of here."

Martin helped Scott stand as he said, "Do you want to go straight home or do something else?"

Scott sighed, "I just want to go home not anywhere else." Henry and Peter both nodded as Scott and his family walked to the car. The trip home was fairly quiet, no one really said anything. When Scott got back in the house he asked Peter, "Is it all right if I call Shelby?" Scott needed to talk to her.

Peter nodded, "Go ahead."

Scott walked into the kitchen and grabbed the cordless phone; he took it upstairs to his room. Peter followed behind him, he couldn't leave Scott unsupervised while he was outside of Horizon. Scott left his door halfway open so he could have a little privacy then he dialed. After a few rings Sophie's voice answered, "Mount Horizon this is Sophie Becker how may I help you?"

Scott replied, "Sophie, it's Scott I'd like to talk to Shelby if I can."

Sophie answered right away, "O.k. Scott I'll page her for you."

It took a while for Shelby to answer, but Scott wasn't surprised, even the closest buildings to the administration were a five minute walk and the main meeting room where most people hung out in took at least fifteen minutes to arrive at the administration area. Finally Scott heard her voice, "Hey Cowboy, how are you?"

Scott sighed, "I honestly don't know. Being on the witness stand was harder than I thought it would be, Elaine's lawyer hit me pretty hard." 

Shelby sounded concerned as she asked, "Did you have a break-down or a panic attack?"

Scott reflexively shook his head before he remembering she couldn't see him, "No, I didn't, but I still feel like I've been publically dissected and put back together again. I'm sorry to keep pushing all of this on you."

Shelby instantly snapped, "you're not pushing anything onto me, I'm here to listen and I know you'd do the same thing if I were the one who had to testify."

Scott nodded, "I certainly hope so."

Shelby pushed him, "So what's really bothering you?"

Scott said, "I'm not sure, after I was done testifying I had to sit down I felt like I was going to throw up. I think the biggest problem is saying it out loud brought all the memories of what happened rushing back and it's hard to think about it again. Plus, I know what Elaine will be saying tomorrow and I really don't want to sit there and listen to her lie."

Shelby said, "unfortunately you don't have much of a choice, if you aren't there when she testifies it might make you look guilty or something."

Scott replied, "Yes, Henry basically said the same thing when I talked to him about all of this."

Shelby said comfortingly, "Take it easy Cowboy, if it helps just keep saying to yourself that once she testifies the worst will probably be over."

Scott said, "I know, but the whole light at the end of the tunnel thing doesn't make this any easier. Thanks for listening Shelby it's always good to hear your voice."

Scott could practically hear her smiling, "It's good to hear you to Scott."

Wanting to change the topic Scott asked, "So how's Jessie doing?"

The two of them spent about ten more minutes talking about basic every day things it made Scott feel better to get his mind off the trial. Eventually his mom's voice called from the bottom of the stairs, "Scott dinner."

Scott called back, "I'll be right down. Sorry Shelby I have to go."

Shelby said, "it's alright, I should probably get going to. Good-bye."

"Bye."

Scott hung up the phone and brought it downstairs with him, he hung it up on the charger so it wouldn't run out of power. Dinner was a fairly quiet affair, Susan and Martin both tried to start a conversation, but it failed miserably. After dinner Scott began to clear the plates, his mom stood to help and as they walked into the kitchen she said, "Scott, I know today was hard for you, but I am very proud of you for how well you handled it all."

Scott smiled, "Thanks mom, it was just hard."

Susan asked, "Do you want me to stay tonight, I can sleep in one of the extra rooms or the couch."

Scott snorted, "Mom, I appreciate the offer, but I don't think Dad would appreciate you waking him up at 5:30 when you start your shift, plus you don't have any clothes or anything here and by the time you got home, backed a bag, and came back it would probably be easier for you to have just stayed home."

Susan shook her head, "Actually I talked to your father about this yesterday and it's o.k. with him, I brought a bag with me if you decided you wanted me to stay."

Scott finished putting the dishes in the sink and turned giving his mom a hug, "Thanks mom, it means a lot to me that you and Dad are doing this, but I don't need you to stay."

Susan nodded, "I understand, I'm sorry I won't be there tomorrow, but it's probably for the best. The bailiffs would probably have to physically restrain me so I wouldn't run over and throttle that woman."

Scott chuckled warmly; it was good to hear this. Susan left a little while later; Scott went to bed fairly early that night, he just didn't know what else to do. Going to court the next morning Scott felt like his entire stomach was trying to make a break for it, as he sat down behind the table Elaine caught his eye and winked at him. Scott felt himself go white and instantly turned away not wanting to have a panic attack because Elaine was looking at him funny.

As soon as the judge entered the room Ms. Mitchell stood, "I call Elaine Mason to the stand."

Elaine stood and walked to the witness stand, she looked a little tired, and Scott wondered if having Darien had taken more out of her than he'd first thought. Elaine was wearing a knee length green dress and hoop ear rings. She walked over and was sworn in then Ms. Mitchell stood, "Ms. Mason we have heard a great deal from you former step-son about your relationship with one another. Would you please tell us in your own words how your relationship with Mr. Barringer developed."

Elaine carefully adjusted her hair in a way that was supposed to make her look nervous, but just made her look vain, then she began, "at first he was distant towards me, but I never thought anything of it. At the time I simply believed he felt I was responsible for his parents divorce. I wasn't entirely comfortable around Scott either, I knew Martin had a son, but we had gotten married so quickly Scott and I hadn't really gotten to know each other before the wedding and I was a little overwhelmed at suddenly becoming a parent to a teenage boy. However, after a while things seemed to settle down Scott was an easy going young man who was very friendly and welcoming towards me. I wanted the two of us to get along so I encouraged his behavior, thinking back on it now I think perhaps I let things go too far."

Ms. Mitchell asked, "Would you care to elaborate on that?"

Elaine sighed heavily and explained, "Scott would often make jokes about the two of us starting a relationship or wanting to spend more time alone getting to know me." I laughed it off thinking he was just being a typical teenage boy blowing off steam and talking big that type of thing. However, as time went on Scott's advances became more overt."

Ms. Mitchell asked, "in what way?"

Elaine suddenly looked uncomfortable and Scott had to fight to keep from rolling his eyes at her. Elaine said, "A few months after I moved in Scott began making physical advances towards me."

Scott's eyebrows went up as Henry stood, "Objection, your honor there was no mention of this in Ms. Mason's deposition."

Ms. Mitchell instantly countered, "Your honor witnesses often forget to mention specific details when making a deposition."

The judge eyed her suspiciously, "That's a fairly significant detail to forget."

Ms. Mitchell had an answer for that as well, "My client had recently given birth and was overly exhausted as a result."

The Judge said, "I'll allow it for now, but I am warning you Ms. Mitchell watch how far you go."

Ms. Mitchell nodded and turned back to Elaine, "Please continue."

Elaine said, "Scott would frequently brush up against me or trip and 'accidentally' touch me. I told him the behavior was inappropriate, but again I thought he was just being immature, then about six months after Martin and I were married that Scott began to make sexual advances towards me. At first it was just innocent little things that I didn't see as threatening Scott would put his hand on my arm and leave it there a little longer than most people would, or give me lingering looks, after a while he started making jokes about the two of us having a relationship he'd say things like, 'if you ever get tired of my Dad you can always turn to me". Elaine shook her head in disgust, "I laughed it off when Scott made jokes like that, I often noticed him eyeing me and simply shrugged it off as an innocent crush then things began to get more serious. I agree a lot of what happened was my fault, and that's why I didn't tell anyone about this before, but I've come to realize that Scott is sick and he needs help. I also don't want him to be a bad influence on my son."

Ms. Mitchell nodded, "I see and when did your relationship with Mr. Barringer become sexual."

Elaine answered, "the first time Scott and I ever had sex was about the first or second week of April nearly a year and a half ago, Martin was working overnight and there was a vicious thunder storm going on. I've always been afraid of harsh storms and I heard on the news that several homes had all ready been destroyed or damaged, looking back now I know that what I did was stupid, but I wasn't thinking properly. I went into Scott's room and asked him if I could stay, Scott smiled at me and said certainly I was going to sleep on a small couch in his room, but he insisted on my sharing the bed. I should have said no, but like I said before I wasn't thinking clearly when I laid down Scot put his arm around my waist. I told him to let go he did, and he moved his hand off my stomach then he put it up my skirt I told him to stop, but he just kissed me and told me to relax and enjoy everything."

Elaine paused to take a drink of water and continued, "Scott began running his hands around my body and slipped my nightgown off (I wasn't wearing anything under it), then he rolled over so he was lying on top of me I tried to push him off, but he was too heavy. Scott took off his pants and then he penetrated me, I should have told Martin as soon as he came home, but I thought it was a one time thing that if I told Scott I didn't want to damage my relationship with his father. When I did confront him he thought I was being coy and just didn't want to get caught. After that first night he started touching me sexually, he would grab my ass or my breasts and frequently kissed me or fondled me when his father wasn't around. Scott would frequently have sex with me after that first night, usually it was when his father was staying over night or out of town on business I frequently told him that I wasn't interested in him, but he refused to take no for an answer. I believe he had deluded himself into thinking I was actually in love with him. Perhaps in his heart Scott realized I did not enjoy our encounters and that is why he started using drugs or maybe he just started it out of curiosity and didn't stop like many boys his age either way I was greatly relieved when Martin finally called Mt. Horizon, I thought they could give him the help he needed which is why I never reported Scott to the police."

Scott had to grit his teeth and grab the armrests of the chair to keep from shouting, Elaine was making it sound like he shouldn't have any contact with Darien at all, and like Scott was some kind of crazy sex maniac. Elaine either didn't notice Scott's anger or choose to ignore it as she continued, "Another reason I am confronting Scott is because being at Horizon didn't keep him out of my life. He wrote me several love letters just after he left. Then when his father and I went to visit Scott claimed that I was the one who had violated him. I was completely shocked, it was then that I realized Scott needed more help than Horizon could provide. I was planning on pressing charges against him when social services came to my house to look things over, I showed them the letters Scott had written and it was enough to convince them I was not guilty. The social workers said there wasn't a way to say one way or another who was telling the truth so I just assumed that pressing charges would do no good so I didn't then after my son was born I knew I had to say something, I was afraid Scott would get partial or full custody of Alfalfa." Scott grimaced at the name, "and I didn't want him to damage my child so I decided to come forward with the truth and now I find myself being the one accused of a crime I can only hope that Scott will see what he is doing and come out with the truth for his own sake as well as the sake of the truth

Ms. Mitchell turned to Elaine and asked, "Ms. Mason what prompted you to finally come out and admit the truth about this relationship between yourself and Mr. Barringer?"

Elaine took a moment to answer as though she were trying to collect her thoughts, Scott however could see that she was just trying to look like this is hard for her and he hoped the jury could see it as well. Finally Elaine answered, "When I learned Scott was the father of my baby I knew that I would be put up on charges for it. As much as I want to help Scott I won't go to jail for him."

Ms. Mitchell nodded, "I see, and why didn't you ever talk to your former husband Martin Barringer about Scott's behavior?"

Elaine said, "There were several reasons, one of the most prominent was that I felt embarrassed about what had happened and ashamed. I believed that by not confronting Scott about his behavior I was partially responsible for it going as far as it had. I was also afraid that Martin wouldn't believe me. I didn't want to lose him, but that obviously isn't an issue any more."

Elaine turned to Martin looking upset and disappointed at his support of Scott then she continued, "I was also concerned of what would happen if Martin did believe me I thought it might destroy their relationship or ours. Also, once Martin had agreed to send Scott to Horizon I thought that it would be enough to correct his behavior, but obviously I was wrong."

Ms. Mitchell turned to the jury, "Well, I think we can all agree that you have suffered from a serious lack of good judgment, but certainly nothing that deserves jailing."

Henry stood again, "Objection, your honor I didn't think we were beginning closing statements."

The judge nodded, "Sustained."

Ms. Mitchell said, "No further questions." Then she sat back down.

Henry looked through his notes one last time then he stood, "Now Ms. Mason, Mr. Barringer testified that his drug and alcohol problems began approximately three months after the two of you began having sex would you say that's correct?"

Elaine shrugged, "Well, both Martin and I had noticed changes in his behavior, but neither of us realized he was doing drugs or drinking until we came home to find him on the floor, that was about three and a half months after Scott had begun to become sexually aggressive."

Henry nodded, "I see and aside from the drugs and drinking my client was suffering from emotional and psychological problems."

Elaine nodded, "Yes, he became withdrawn towards other people and easily startled."

Henry nodded, "So my client developed serious problems as a result of these sexual encounters, but you, who claim to be 'victim' in this case have not had any difficulties, you did not develop any eating disorder you did not fall into any harmful behaviors, you have not even participated in therapy sessions. Ms. Mason how do you explain this? Either you are the strongest most put together woman I have ever met or you are lying."

Henry gave Elaine a knowing look as Ms. Mitchell stood, "Objection!"

The judge said, "sustained, keep it clean Mr. Walters."

Henry turned back to him, "My apologies your honor, but I would like the witness to answer the underlying question."

The judge said, "So ordered Ms. Mason please answer."

Elaine said, "The main reason I was able to avoid any harmful behavior was because of my son. I knew that if I hurt myself I'd be hurting him to and he hadn't done anything wrong."

Henry pushed, "And yet you didn't go see a therapist, join a support group, or do anything to receive help from anyone."

Elaine stumbled, "a lot of rape victims do not seek help, they feel embarrassed, ashamed, or afraid."

Henry said, "'But once again you have not demonstrated any problems."

Elaine said, "I was very upset it was hard for me to deal with what had happened, I think maybe I was in shock or suffering post traumatic stress."

Henry looked shocked and turned back to her file, "Really, and yet you demonstrated no symptoms of it."

Ms. Mitchell stood, "you honor is Mr. Walters simply going to keep rephrasing the same question?"

Henry responded before the judge could, "I will until I get a reasonable answer your honor, Ms. Mason has not given any explanation for why my client suffered so many problems while she is perfectly healthy."

The judge turned to Elaine, "I agree with Mr. Walters, Ms. Mason you need to answer."

Elaine bit her lip in nerves, Scott fought the urge to smile, he hated to admit it, but he loved seeing her sweat for once, "I refused to allow Scott's actions to dictate my life, I just wanted to move on and that's what I did."

Henry didn't sound convinced, "I see so you just didn't let it overcome you, I must say Ms. Mason if that is true you are without a doubt the strongest woman I have ever met with the most incredible willpower."

Ms. Mitchell stood, "Objection."

The judge said, "Sustained."

Henry sat, "No further questions, but I would like to reserve the right to recall."

The judge nodded, "So ordered."

Elaine stepped down from the witness stand as soon as she sat the judge said, "We will reconvene tomorrow at 10."

Scott waited until Elaine had left the room before going, he didn't want to see her and Henry had something to say, "That went very well, we should be able to get to closing statements tomorrow provided Ms. Mitchell doesn't have too much else to say."

Scott asked, "Why would she? Elaine just admitted she didn't tell anyone what happened and everyone else who knew something about it has already testified. What else would Ms. Mitchell have to say?"

Henry shrugged, "Her closing statement could go over long, or she might try to pull something off at the last minute, I can't say for sure."

Scott nodded and turned to Peter and his Dad, "Can we go home now?"

Martin pulled Scott into a hug, "Absolutely."

The two of them stood there for a few minutes before finally walking moving away and walking to the car. Scott had a lot of trouble sleeping that night, he kept tossing and turning. Finally he gave up and went downstairs, Scott sat in the living room for a long time thinking over everything that had happened so far and everything that was might happen next. The only thing that brought him any comfort was reminding himself that with a little luck it would all be over tomorrow."

a/n o.k. we are reaching the end of the road here, a few more chaps and it'll be done. Please review.


	15. closing statements

Scott woke early the morning after Elaine's testimony, Henry told him that today would probably be the last day of the trial. There were a few more people to testify on Elaine's behalf, but they were all just character witnesses. Very few people besides Scott's parents had ever seen Scott and Elaine together unless it was at a party or picnic for Martin's work.

Scott called Shelby again that morning, she assured him, "Hey Cowboy how are you doing?"

Scott smiled, even though she couldn't see it, "I o.k., but I'm nervous. I'm just glad that now this is all coming to an end. I'm not really worried what happens to me. Peter and my Dad have fixed it so even if I'm convicted (which Henry has assured me dozens of times won't happen) I won't go to jail so I'm not worried about that, but I'm worried about Darien. I know everyone's said the odds of Elaine getting off are slim to none and even if she does I all ready talked to my Dad about it, but I can't help thinking what if? You know what if she manages to disappear with him? What if I never see him again? What if she hurts Darien?"

Shelby sighed, "I don't know Scott. You just have to do what you can and hope it's enough. My Grams always used to say, 'expect the best, and be prepared for the worst'. Just do everything you can to help Darien and try not to freak out about the worst possible scenario unless it actually happens. If it does _then_ you can have a breakdown and go running naked through the streets."

Scott chuckled, "You know Shel, as entertaining as that possibility sounds, I think I'm going to avoid public nudity."

Shelby said, "that's your choice, but seriously Scott I think Darien is going to be all right. The judge and jury would all have to be idiots to give Elaine custody. And while I know the world is full of idiots and some do often manage to get onto a jury I don't think it's occurred in this case."

Scott nodded, "I know, but I still worry. He's my son it's my job to worry about him. As soon as the trial's over we're going to see him again."

Shelby asked, "Why haven't you gone to see him since that first time?"

Scott said, "There just hasn't been enough time. It would have been a hassle because I am legally forbidden from being alone with him so I would have had to bring Henry and a social worker along for the visit. That type of thing has to be scheduled at least a week in advance and I've only been home for just over a week. Plus the trial's been taking up so much time and I've been worried about getting my testimony done that I just haven't had the time. So today I'm going."

Shelby said, "Have fun, I'm sure you'll have another stack of pictures to flash around afterwards."

Scott grinned and said, "I have to go, good-bye."

"Bye"

Scott hung up the phone and went back upstairs to change for court. Scott went right for his usual seat without even looking at Elaine. The judge came in a Elaine's few witnesses were called, as Henry said there wasn't much they could do, none of them had knowledge of Scott and Elaine's relationship. Mostly they just said that Elaine was always a very kind well-liked person and that they couldn't see her doing anything inappropriate towards anyone.

Scott had to fight the urge to lean onto his hand in boredom, finally all the testimony was done and the judge called for closing statements. Henry went first, he stood and walked towards the jury, "Ms. Mason claims that she is the victim in this case, that she did not speak out because she thought Horizon was enough of a punishment and she wanted to keep him out of jail."

Henry paused and looked around, "_she_ wanted to keep _him_ out of jail? This is the young man she is claiming raped her repeatedly, and yet she waits until after she has his child before pressing any charges of any kind. That seems exceedingly unlikely, what's more while my client has suffered from drug and alcohol addiction as well as severe emotional and psychological distress Ms. Mason has not even seen a therapist since she was supposedly attacked by my client. Ms. Mason is not a victim she is a predator who repeatedly attacked her own step-son. A vulnerable teenager who was having difficulty copping with his parents divorce, and was so desperate for approval or connection of some kind that he even kept writing to Ms. Mason after he was sent away from her. My client did nothing to hurt Ms. Mason, he accused her of wrong doing long before there son was born and has continued to state these details since DCFS first decided to not to charge Ms. Mason. Ms. Mason is a criminal who has managed to avoid punishment due to a lack of evidence (until now). She believes that she is untouchable, and you need to show her that she is not, that her actions have consequences and that you do not believe she should be allowed to continue getting away with this behavior. Thank you"

Henry sat and Ms. Mitchell stood, "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury Mr. Walters claims that Mr. Barringer is the victim, taken advantage of by and older woman. He claims that it is exceedingly unlikely for my client to be the victim, and yet the only piece of evidence besides the conception of their child is the letter Mr. Barringer wrote to my client. If _she_ was sexually assaulting _him_ why did he right her love letters? Moreover, why didn't he bring my client up on civil charges after DCFS refused to file criminal charges the first time? My client was not trying to protect Mr. Barringer, she didn't file charges because she didn't want to risk her marriage by forcing her ex-husband to choose between her and his son.

Ms. Mitchell paused and shook her head in a half disappointed half sad way before continuing, "Unfortunately Martin Barringer made that choice anyone and he didn't choose my client. Ms. Mason believed that once Mr. Barringer was sent to Horizon it was enough of a punishment for his actions and it would help him with his issues. She did not know she was carrying his child and was equally surprised when she was charged for raping him. Mr. Walters claims that my client is someone who should be punished because she has gotten away with too much. I say to you now that Mr. Barringer is the one who has gotten away with too much and needs to be taught that just because he is a popular athlete who's parents always gave him everything he wanted he can not get away with this without punishment. Mr. Barringer is a spoiled selfish young man who needs to be put in his place and shown that the world does not revolve around him and when someone breaks the law they need to pay the price for doing so. Thank you."

Ms. Mitchell sat down and Judge Theodore Harrison then turned to the jury to give them the final instructions before they began deliberations, "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury you have heard a great deal today from both attorney's and the two subjects of this trial. It is now your duty to consider the evidence that has been presented to you and make an informed decision. If you find Ms. Mason guilty you can make a sentencing recommendation, but only if you believe that her guilt has been thoroughly proven by Mr. Walters. Madame foreperson please escort the other members of the jury out of the courtroom. The interested persons will remain seated until every member of the jury has left and are reminded that you are not to have any contact of any kind with any members of the jury until after the verdict has been delivered. This court is in recess until the jury reaches its decision." He banged his gavel and the jury left.

Scott stayed sitting as the jury left, Martin, Peter, and Henry all stood, but Scott said, "Wait." They all looked at him like he was nuts. Peter, had noticed Scott was a acting nervous and thought this could be the beginning of another panic attack until he noticed that Scott was staring at Elaine. Peter nodded as he realized Scott wanted to wait until Elaine left so he wouldn't have to risk running into her. Peter was surprised because Scott hadn't acted like this before, but it was probably from nerves so he sat next to him. Martin and Henry followed him, Scott sat there and waited for Elaine to leave and then he counted to ten to make sure she was gone.

Scott finally stood and they all walked out, as they left Scott shook Henry's hand saying, "No matter what happens thanks for everything and I really appreciate all you've done."

Henry smiled at him as he returned the shake, "You're welcome Scott, I enjoyed working with you and I hope everything works out the way it should."

Scott nodded, "So do I."

Henry left in his car then Scott, Martin, and Peter got into their car and headed to the hospital, the trip passed mostly in silence. Scott spent most of the time staring at the window wondering how long it would take for the jury to reach a decision and what the results of that decision would be. When they got to the hospital Scott walked to the sign-in desk and spoke to the duty nurse a tall dark haired man with a nasty looking half circle scar around his right temple. The nurse looked up and asked, "Can I help you?"

Scott answered, "Yes, I'm Scott Barringer, I'm here to visit my son, someone from social services is supposed to be meeting us here."

The nurse nodded as Peter and Martin stood back, wanted Scott to be able to do things on his own, but they knew he might need them if something went wrong. The nurse nodded saying, "yes, your lawyer called ahead to let s know, I'll page the social worker."

He picked up the phone, "paging, Beverly Talman to the check-in desk, Beverly Talman to check-in please." The nurse turned to Scott, "Please have a seat in the waiting room until she comes down."

Scott nodded, "thank you." Then he turned and sat down next to where his dad and Peter were. Scott sighed and asked, "So if Elaine is found guilty what happens then? I mean, I know she'll go to jail, but what happens with Darien, doesn't she have the right to see him when she gets out of prison?"

Martin answered, "It's not unheard of for people convicted of crimes to get visitation rights or phone calls with their children. I talked to Henry and he said after the verdict comes back (if it's guilty) then we petition family court judge to remove Elaine's parental rights to Darien, then she won't be allowed to see him under any circumstances inside or outside of jail."

Scott nodded saying, "What about with guardianship? I can't take care of Darien while I'm at Horizon. I know we said he's stay with you Dad, but what will I need to do, sign forms, go to court?"

Martin said, "You'll give me temporary guardianship of Darien meaning that you are unable to care for him at the present time. And after you leave Horizon, and get approval from and independent therapist and a social worker you'll be given guardianship again. All you have to do is sign some forms, when it's time Henry will walk you through it and witness your signature and that's it."

Scott bit his lip and turned to Peter, "So I'll leave Horizon and instantly become responsible for a toddler."

Peter smirked, "Well not instantly, but yes you'll be responsible for his care and everything. Don't worry though, there are a lot of kids at Horizon with children and we have classes and instruction we can give you that'll help, and there are also things social services can do to help you out, programs, organizations, support groups, all sorts of things."

Scott was about to answer when a high pitched voice called, "Mr. Scott Barringer and guests."

Scott turned to see a plump blonde woman wearing a green dress standing next to the desk he stood and walked towards her with Martin and Peter following. Scott put a hand out saying, "I'm Scott Barringer."

The woman looked at his hand as though it had said something offensive to her and said, "You may come with me."

Then she turned and walked towards the elevator, Scott turned around and shook his head causing Martin and Peter to chuckle. The plump social worker, walked them up to the nursery then turned and lead them into a small room off to the side, a nurse was holding Darien in the rocking chair, she was a fairly young African American with short hair. She smiled as she said, "Well, I don't think you're here to see me."

Scott smiled as he walked over and took Darien in his arms, "He's gotten so much bigger."

Martin said, "That happens."

Darien turned a little and opened his large dark eyes, Scott wasn't surprised that Darien hadn't inherited his blue eyes, the only reason his eyes were blue in the first place was because his mother and his paternal grandparents all had blue eyes. Aside from having chocolate brown eyes Darien looked a lot like Scott had as a child (at least as far as he could tell from having looked at his old baby pictures). Darien had light brown hair coming in, and while it was too soon to tell Scott thought he could see a bit of a curl to it, Darien also had Scott's nose and a few other traits he could see. Unfortunately Scott could also see Elaine in Darien as well, while he wasn't thrilled about it Scott knew that being upset wouldn't do anyone any good.

Darien seemed to be studying Scott just as intensely as Scott was studying him. Finally Scott blinked and sat down in the seat the nurse had just vacated. Darien seemed a little nervous, but he wasn't crying, Scott smiled, "Hey kiddo remember me? I'm your Daddy, I know that sounds weird, I really don't look old enough, but it's true. I'll explain it to you when you're a little older, like 30."

Martin chuckled while Peter merely shook his head, Scott sat with Darien and started to rock, "You know soon, the court's going to have a decision and you'll be able to go home with your grandpa. I'll have to go back to Horizon, but we've got web cam's set up so you and I can see and talk to each other and I'll come and visit once and a while if I can."

Darien smiled at him, Scott turned to Martin, "He's smiling already?"

Martin nodded, "Most babies start smiling when they're around a month old he's already a month and a half old."

Scott grinned in amazement, a moment later Darien began to squirm slightly. Scott loosened his blankets slightly so Darien could move around a little, but wouldn't get cold. Darien started to fret, Scott tried rocking him again, but it wasn't working. Scott turned to Martin, "What's wrong?"

Martin shrugged, "Sometimes babies cry for no real reason, or at least not one that anyone can figure out. He's your son try and calm him down."

Scott gave his dad a dirty look and asked the nurse, "when did he last eat?"

The nurse said, "About twenty minutes ago he's not hungry, I burped him right after so he's not gassy either."

Scott continued rocking Darien trying to calm him down, but the baby just kept crying. Scott was about to give up when a strong smell hit his nose. Scott realized quickly what the problem was and asked, "Can I have a diaper and some wipes?"

The nurse nodded and Martin smirked, Scott carefully put Darien down on the changing table in the room. Peter asked, "Do you know what you're doing?"

Scott nodded, "Yes, I may be an only child, but I have four younger cousins I knew how to change a diaper before I knew how to read." Scott turned to Darien as he began unsnapping the blue uni the bay wore, "all right now kiddo, I know you're still new at this, but try not to pee all over me o.k."

Scott removed the dirty diaper and threw it in the trash, he saw that Darien hadn't pooped too much, but still it was more than enough. Scott carefully began to wipe him down and noticed that Darien had been circumcised as well. He didn't really care, his parents had done the same for him as a baby still he wondered why he wasn't asked. As he put Darien's diaper back on Scott asked, "So someone signed off on a circumcision?"

Martin said, "Yes, Elaine requested it and I didn't want to go to court over something so stupid with everything else so I signed off. I'm sorry I didn't ask you, but there was so much you were dealing with."

Scott finished dressing Darien and handed the baby to his father so he could wash his hands, "It's o.k.., I was just curious."

Martin said, "I promise I'll talk to you before anything else, it was more of a reflex than anything else, I was still trying to get the fact that Darien was your son instead of mine around my head."

Scott took Darien back and spent the next hour playing with him Darien took great joy in dropping the small blue teddy bear Martin had gotten him on the floor then fussing until someone picked it up and gave it back to him (a/n my niece used to do that all the time). Finally it was time to leave, Martin drove them home and the three of them had a quiet dinner which Susan was happy to be apart of, Scott helped clear the plates and was about to go watch some t.v. in the living room when Martin's cell rang, he picked it up and listened for a few minutes before turning to Scott and Peter, "The jury's back"

a/n oh cliffie, I am so evil, verdict next chap, any opinions speak now or forever hold your peace.


	16. Going back

Scott's stomach was doing flip flops as he, his parents, and Peter drove back to the court house. Scott couldn't help worrying about what would happen, the worst possible scenarios kept flipping through his brain like a television show that does flashbacks of accidents were each scene is frozen, and for a second you see and image then it jumps to another. When they finally arrived at the court house Scott felt like he was going to be sick again.

Martin noticed and jerked his head at Susan, as the two of them walked over to pull him into a hug. Peter stood back letting them have this moment, he knew it was annoying to have him hovering over their shoulder, but he could not leave Scott alone until they were back in Horizon there was just too much risk of something happening and it could cost him his job if he did leave them alone and someone found out.

Scott relaxed into his parents arms, for a minute he felt the way he had before the divorce, safe, protected, and knowing that nothing would hurt him. Scott said, "I love you."

His parents both answered together, "We love you to."

Martin sighed as he ran his hand through Scott's blonde hair, "I'm so sorry Scott, this is all my fault."

Scott shook his head, "No, it's not. Elaine did this not you."

Martin nodded and they all pulled apart, Peter made a mental note to talk to Martin about therapy for himself, it was natural that he would feel guilt for bringing Elaine into his son's life, but he had to get passed it if he was going to help Scott and Darien. The three of them pulled apart and walked into the building Henry stood waiting for them as always. Scott walked up to him and asked, "It didn't take that long, is that good or bad?"

Henry shrugged, "unfortunately I can't say for sure it can be a good sign or very bad."

Scott nodded, "all right let's get this over with."

The five of them walked into the court room to see Elaine sitting there with her lawyer, a moment later the judge entered and called the court into order, "Madame Foreperson have you reached a verdict?"

The forewoman of the jury stood, "We have your honor."

"In the matter of the people of California Vs. Elaine Mason on the charges of statutory rape, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and sexual assault of a minor we find the defendant Elaine Mason guilty of all charges."

Scott sighed in relief it was like a huge weight had been lifted from his chest. Looking over he saw that Elaine was in total shock. The judge banged his gavel and said, "Very well. Ms. Mason please stand."

Elaine stood on shaky legs, Scott wished he could say he was happy to see her this defeated, but all he really felt was a mixture or shock and numbed relief. The judge nodded saying, "Very well, when I was first assigned this case I was not sure who was telling the truth, but as this trial has progressed it has become clear to me that you Mr. Barringer were the victim in this case. I would like to offer you my sincerest apologies on behalf of the state of California for how long it has taken in order for you to have your day in court."

Scott gave a small grin as the judge turned to Elaine, "As for you Ms. Mason I find your behavior completely reprehensible and therefore I am giving you the maximum sentence possible for these crimes. You will spend no less than 15 years and no more than 25 in the state penitentiary. I also ordering you be kept in isolation do to the nature of your crimes."

Henry stood and said, "Your honor I would like to ask that at this time to request that you make a summary judgment in the matter of the custody of the minor child."

Ms. Mitchell stood, "Objection! Your honor this is not family court, and my client deserves a chance to argue for the right to be with her son."

The judge nodded, "Ms. Mitchell is correct Mr. Walters you will have to bring this matter to a family court judge. However, I am granting custody of the child to Mr. Barringer until the matter is settled. The defendant is remanded into the custody of the state and the jury is dismissed with the thanks of the court."

The judge banged his gavel and the jury was led out, as soon as they had left a police officer came up to Elaine placing her in handcuffs. Elaine shook her head, "No, no this isn't right I didn't do anything it was him. You have to believe me it was him! I didn't do anything! I didn't!"

Elaine continued screaming as the office dragged her out of the court room. Scott sat down sighing heavily, "Thank God."

Martin and Susan both shook Henry's hand, thanking him for everything Scott stood, "I really appreciate what you've done to."

Henry nodded, "Well, we have to petition a family court judge to terminate Elaine's parental rights and grant you custody."

Scott felt his heart sink, "So we have to go through another trial?"

Henry shrugged, "not necessarily, because of Elaine's conviction the judge might decided to rule against her without one. However, if there is a trial it won't be as difficult as this one was. I have all ready filled out the petition, and I'll file it tomorrow."

Scott turned to Peter, "So, will we go back to Horizon or what?"

Peter rubbed his head, "We'll wait a day or to and see if the petition goes through. If you do have to go through another trial then will discuss the options. It's possible you would only need to be present for a short time during the family court trial."

Scott asked, "So, we can go get Darien right?"

Henry nodded, "Absolutely."

Scott grinned, his son was coming home. Martin said, "We'll have to go get the car seat and then go pick him up at the hospital, it might be better to leave him there over night and go get him in the morning."

Scott thought about it, he wanted Darien out of the hospital, he knew it was stupid, but a part of him felt that as long as Darien was with him then Elaine wouldn't be able to get to him. Still, he knew it was getting later and Darien was probably getting close to sleeping by now. Henry seemed to sense Scott's worry and said, "Scott, social services is still there and will remain until you go pick him up."

Relief spread through Scott as he said, "All right we'll go tomorrow."

Martin drove them home and Susan decided to stay the night so she could be there when Darien came home. Scott had trouble sleeping that night, he was so excited and worried about Darien coming home he had trouble letting his mind go and falling asleep. It was like when he was a kid the night before Christmas, he was so excited for the presents and everything that he always had trouble getting to sleep.

Scott woke up around six the next morning and went downstairs, no one was up yet so he picked up a book and started reading. Scott knew that he couldn't go running around without Peter and he didn't want to turn on the t.v. because he was afraid it would wake everyone. Thankfully he didn't have to worry about that, about 15 minutes after he woke up Scott heard the shower running, not long after his mother came downstairs drying her hair with a towel.

She blinked a few times when she spotted Scott sitting on the couch, "You are up at 6:30, reading a book, on a non-school day. Who are you and what have you done with my son?"

Scott snickered, "I didn't sleep well last night and woke up too early, I didn't want to wake anybody so I just started reading."

Susan eyed him suspiciously, "If this is what Horizon has done for you I think I want to build a statue to Mr. Scarborough."

Scott rolled his eyes, "Very funny."

Susan shrugged, "so what do you want for breakfast?"

Scott put his book down and walked towards the kitchen, "I don't know, something quick how about just scrambled eggs with toast? Shouldn't we wait until Dad and Peter wake up before we start cooking?"

Susan smirked, "Scott I am sure that Peter and your Dad are perfectly capable of cooking for themselves and it's not our fault if they sleep through our making breakfast."

Scott chuckled and followed his mom into the kitchen, Scott pulled plates and a pan for cooking the eggs when Susan said, "Hey there's bacon in here."

Scott jerked his head up, "you're kidding?" Martin was not the cooking type and he hardly ever bought bacon because he said it was too expensive.

Susan pulled out the container, "Scott why don't you grab another pan and we'll make bacon and eggs?"

Scott nodded, "Sure thing Mom."

The two of them started cooking, Scott filled and turned on the coffee pot then turned to the eggs and started cracking, "That's one thing I really don't like about Horizon we aren't allowed to have coffee."

Susan raised an eyebrow, "Well I think it is a little strange to, but I'm sure there's a good reason for it."

Scott started stirring the eggs, "Yeah, they do, but I still don't like it."

The two of them began cooking a few moments later someone upstairs woke up. Scott thought it was probably Peter he usually woke early at Horizon to go running or something. It didn't take long for Peter to join them in the kitchen, "Do you two need help?"

Scott shook his head as he threw two pieces of toast in the toaster and poured the eggs onto the pan, "No thanks, we've got it."

Susan began making the bacon as Peter stood on the sidelines, the smell of food, and sound of cooking woke Martin and soon he to stood in the kitchen. Martin grabbed the plates Scott had taken out and also picked some forks and spoons out of the drawer then started setting the table. It was a comfortable domestic moment, Scott couldn't help smiling, his parents had a lot of trouble after the divorce and there had been a few times when Scott had thought they would never be able to even seen each other again without fighting. Being here now and seeing them together made Scott feel better, he knew that his parents would probably not remarry, but seeing that they at least had the potential to be friends was a relief to him.

The four of them sat down and ate quickly, as soon as they were finished Martin ran upstairs and came back down carrying a car seat. Scott grinned as he followed his dad out the door, "Here Scott I can teach you how to put this in."

Scott asked, "Why? By the time I'm out of Horizon Darien will be using a different car seat?"

Martin nodded, "That's true, but most car seats are installed the same way so now's as good a time to teach you as any."

Scott stood back as Martin showed him how to put the seat in, it only took a few minutes, but Scott understood that it was important for him to learn. It didn't take long before they were set up. Martin, Peter, and Scott drove in Martin's car while Susan drove her own car, she would have to leave for work after visiting the hospital because her shift started at 9.

Scott could hardly sit still as they drove it seemed to take hours before they finally arrived at the hospital. Scott practically sprinted to the door and checked in at the desk. The same snotty woman as before led them all up to the nursery, Martin and the others followed Scott as he practically ran down the hall. The nurse was sitting next to Darien's crib as Scott came in the room, he smiled and said, "Here to take the little fella home are you?"

Scott grinned as he reached in to pick up his son, "Yeah, we're taking him home. Hey Darien, you're finally coming home, you can have your own room and not have to listen to fifty other kids cry at night. Doesn't that sound nice?"

Martin and Susan both laughed while Peter shook his head in amusement. Scott gave them a questioning look, "What? Hey mom, how would you like to hold your grandson for the first time?"

Susan walked over, "I would love to." She carefully took Darien from Scott and held the small baby in her arms, Susan pulled the blanket back to get a good look at him. The baby started fussing a little at the sudden lack of warmth. Susan bounced him gently, "shhhh, shhhh, it's o.k." she wrapped Darien back up, "Scott he looks so much like you."

Scott grinned, "Thanks Mom." Susan leaned over and gave Scott quick kiss on the cheek before saying good-bye and leaving. Scott held Darien close as he asked, "Can we go?"

Martin answered, "Well we have to fill out some paper work downstairs first they obviously aren't going to let people just walk in here, pick up a baby, and leave."

Peter could see the disappointed look on Scott's face and elaborated, "It won't take long and you can hold Darien until we're done." Scott's face brightened and the three of them left the room.

Scott looked around the nursery one last time, he was thrilled that Darien was finally coming home, but he couldn't help feeling nervous about taking him out of the hospital. The hospital had been a kind of safety net, where if something went wrong Scott knew there were trained professionals around to help, but now they were on their own.

Scott cradled Darien as they went down talking to him, "Well Darien, it's time to go home now. I know you've been here for a really long time and you're probably going to be scarred to live in a new place and sleep in a strange bed in a strange room, but you don't need to worry because Grandpa and I will be there."

The elevator dinged and Scott grinned, "And that, was your very first elevator ride."

Martin and Peter both chuckled as they went to fill out the paperwork Martin shook his head, "You know, it's amazing Scott seems to have a natural touch with him."

Peter nodded, "Well, he hasn't really been alone with Darien much, and the few times he has seen him nothing's really happened. Still, He is handling this much better than I had anticipated. However, this could well be the calm before the storm."

Martin nodded as he began filling out paper work, "Hopefully that won't happen."

Peter turned to watch Scott with his soon, "I hope so to."

Once everything was taken care of the doctor gave Darien a quick check over and they left. Peter went out first and started the car to give if a few minutes to cool down so Darien wouldn't get sick or over heated then Scott walked Darien to the car and Martin showed him how to put the baby in the car seat. Scott sat in the back with Darien, as they started driving Darien turned his head around to look at everything, as soon as they hit the main road Darien started laughing. Scott grinned, "You like the car huh?"

Darien enjoyed the ride, but as soon as the car stopped he started to cry. Scott carefully lifted him out and carried Darien into the house. He rocked him back and forth trying to calm him, but that only made him cry louder. Scott turned to his dad, "What's wrong?"

Martin looked, "It might be nothing, sometimes babies cry for no reason. Still why don't you check if he's wet."

Scott unsnapped Darien's uni and felt his diaper, "He's not wet, maybe he's hungy."

Martin shook his head, "no they just fed him half an hour ago. Try putting him over your shoulder he might have gas."

Scott carefully put Darien on his shoulder and gently patted the babies back, there was a loud burp and Scott felt something wet land on his shirt. He pulled Darien back to see baby spit up on his shirt, "Great, dad will you take him so I can go change?"

Marin grinned taking the baby as Scott went upstairs.

Hghghghghghghg

The next few days went in pretty much the same pattern, Darien was getting used to the knew environment and being around his family 24/7. Scott discovered (to his annoyance) that whatever idiot had coined the phrase, 'sleeping like a baby' obviously never had one of their own because Darien woke up every three hours crying for something or other. Martin and Peter both helped with the late night feedings, but Scott was still exhausted by the time Henry called them about the custody hearing.

Martin was feeding Darien while Scott grabbed a clean diaper when the phone rang, Scott picked it up, "Hello?"

Henry answered, "Scott, it's Henry."

Scott frowned, "Is something wrong?"

Henry said, "No, the judge has made her decision."

Scott turned to his Dad, Peter, and Darien prompting, "And?"

Scott could hear Henry's smile, "And you have been granted full custody of Darien."

Scott sighed heavily, "Thank goodness."

Henry added, "The judge also approved your father as a secondary guardian while you're at Horizon, I'll bring the paper work over later today, once everything's signed and witnessed you'll be all set."

Scott grinned, "Thank you."

Henry said, "No problem I'll see you this afternoon, would one be all right?"

Scott answered, "Yeah, one is fine see you then good-bye."

Scott hung up, "The judge granted full custody to me and Dad you've been approved as secondary guardian so Henry will be by at one to fill out the forms and we're set."

Martin stood and wrapped Scott in hug, taking care not to squish the baby, "Oh that's wonderful."

Scott pulled back and turned to Peter, "This means we have to go back doesn't it?"

Peter walked up to Scott and put a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Yes we do Scott. I know it's hard for you, but you have to go back to Horizon, you know that right?"

Scott nodded reluctantly, "Yeah, I know that I can't take care of Darien right now, but I don't want to leave him."

Martin wrapped an arm around his son's other shoulder, "Scott, I'll take very good care of him you have my word. We've got the web cam and everything set up so you can talk to him and I'll bring him up to Horizon to see you as often as I can."

Scott sighed, he knew this was coming, but facing it was hard. He silently took Darien from his father and held the baby close wanting to be with him as much as possible. Scott turned back to Peter and reluctantly asked, "When do we have to go?"

Peter said, "Probably the day after tomorrow."

Scott nodded, "I'm gonna call Mom and tell her what's going on."

Scott dialed the number and got a voice mail (he wasn't that surprised his mom had been working a lot of morning shifts lately so he had half expected it) Scott said, "Hey Mom, I've got great news the judge granted me custody! Listen call me as soon as you get this and I'll give you details. Bye."

Scott hung up the phone and took Darien into the living room, he carefully set Darien on the floor and grabbed a few toys to play with him. Henry arrived at one just as promised, Darien had just gone down for a nap so Scott had opened the door as soon as the car pulled up and put a finger to his lips. Henry nodded as he came in, to his surprised Scott saw someone else get out of the car, a small women with short black hair and soft blue eyes. Scott couldn't help shuddering slightly, she looked a lot like Elaine. Henry turned to her saying, "This is my secretary Amanda Robins, she will witnessing the signing."

Scott wrinkled his brow, "I thought you said Peter could do it?"

Henry nodded, "He can, but this requires two witnesses, I'm afraid it slipped my mind when I told you earlier."

Scott nodded leading them into the living room were Martin and Peter were waiting. Henry instantly fell into 'lawyer mood' and started explaining the legal impact of what they were signing, "Now, just to make sure everyone understands what we are doing by signing this contract Scott will be giving Martin secondary guardianship of Darien that means that Martin will be legally recognized as Darien's guardian until we re-evaluate the situation after Scott has graduated." Henry had explained this before, but he understood that they needed to go over it again so that everyone was satisfied Scott was giving informed consent.

As soon as he was done Scott said, "I understand."

Henry handed him the contract to read over, Scott made sure to check it over carefully, trusted Henry, but he also knew that people could make mistake and it was always a good idea to read before signing. After checking the contract over Scott signed his name and initialed to verify his signature. Peter and Amanda both signed the witness lines and Henry signed the attorney line.

Henry nodded pulling the duplicate from underneath, "you'll want to keep this for your records." Martin took the duplicate and put it upstairs in his room with Darien's birth certificate, the two items were both kept in a lock box to ensure they were protected and easy to find. Henry and Amanda shook their hands and left. As soon as they had pulled out of the driveway the pone rang, Scott had a feeling he knew who it was and answered, "hello?"

"Hey Scott, congratulations on winning the case, I'll come over tomorrow and we can have a big celebration, whatever you want for dinner."

Scott new what he wanted even without having to think about it, "Steak and mashed potatoes."

Susan laughed, "Why am I not surprised?"

Scott answered, "Oh, I don't know because it's one of my favorite meals and you know we would never get steak at Horizon."

Susan said, "All right, I'll pick it up, I suppose this means you're going to have to go back doesn't it?"

Scott sighed heavily, "The day after tomorrow."

Susan's voice went from cheery to disappointed, "Oh, I'm sorry."

Scott tilted his head slightly as he said, "It's all right I'm going to really miss seeing you, and Dad, and especially Darien."

Susan said, "Well you know we're here for you whenever you need us."

Scott smiled, "I know bye Mom."

"Bye"

The rest of the day passed quickly, Scott spent as much time with Darien as he could trying to be with his son as much as possible before he had to go. Dinner the next day was great Susan and Martin cooked while Scott and Peter watched Darien, Susan had picked up a cake that read 'congratulations' on it. The cake was originally intended for a graduation party so there was motor board on it, but Scott still liked it. Darien was asleep by the time they started eating and the four of them were able to enjoy a meal together. Peter explained what Scott's new schedule would be like when he got back, and Scott talked to his parents about the next family visiting day. It was a great time and Scott was sad to see it end.

Scott stood in his room the next morning starring at his suitcase, he was trying to make some excuse for why he couldn't leave yet, but he'd already repacked the bag four times. Peter stood in the doorway starring at him. Finally Scott sighed, "We have to go now don't we?"

Peter nodded as Scott turned around, "Yes we do."

Scott picked up his bag and turned to leave. Martin and Susan were waiting downstairs, Susan was holding Darien. Scott hugged his Dad then his Mom, he could feel his eyes were stinging and his throat was closing up as he bent down to kiss his son on the head, "I love you baby."

Scott and Peter loaded everything into the car and started to pull out, Scott starred out the back window long after his home had faded from sight. He had never expected leaving Darien to be so hard, it hadn't been as difficult last time, but then again last time he had known exactly when he was coming back this time it would be months before he saw his son again. Scott turned around and adjusted himself in his seat, it was going to be a long and difficult ride back to Horizon.

a/n well there you have it, this is the longest chap I've written for this story only another chap or two to go before it's done please review.


	17. adusting

The ride back to Horizon was fairly quiet, Scott actually ended up falling asleep half way there as the several nights he'd slept poorly worrying about the trial caught up with him. When they got back Scott quickly dumped his bag on his bed and ran to find Shelby, he couldn't wait to talk to her. Scott checked the main room where everyone hung out, but she wasn't there then he tried the cafeteria and the grounds, again there was no sign of her.

Scott started looking around the grounds, he couldn't help being a little frustrated that Shelby hadn't been waiting for him. She knew he would be back today. Scott turned around and headed back to Peters office, as he stepped in there were shouts, "Surprise!"

Scott looked around all of the Cliffhangers were standing under a welcome back banner, Scott smiled as he remembered his mom doing the same thing for him when he came home. Scott grinned, "Thanks."

The others nodded as Sophie turned around saying, "We made you something."

Scott groaned, "Oh no, please not another 'homemade cake'."

Everyone laughed as Sophie pulled out a regular cake, "Don't worry this time we used Betty Croker."

Scott nodded as Peter took out a knife and started cutting. Shelby asked, "So you won?"

Scott said, "yeah we won and it feels great. Elaine will probably try to petition for visitation rights later, but Henry says that a judge wouldn't be willing to grant it right now because she was just sentenced and Darien is still too young. Being in a prison would be too dangerous to his immune system so it'll be a while before we need to cross that bridge."

Scott shook his head wanting to change the subject, "Hey, who wants to see some more baby pictures?"

To no ones surprise Juliette was the first one to step forward. Scott took the new photos out and passed them around. Shelby walked over to him and he stood pulling her away slightly, "Shel thank you, I don't think I would have gotten through this half as well as I did without you it means a lot to me and I just wanted to say thank you."

Shelby grabbed his shoulder saying, "You're welcome Cowboy, I'm glad you won."

Scott and Shelby turned back to find the others starring at them. Scott blushed while Shelby shrugged and said, "What? It's not like we were making out."

Peter and Sophie both rolled their eyes and everyone else laughed and Ezra handed Scott his pictures back. Peter cut up pieces of cake for everyone and they had a slice with a glass of lemonade. Auggie and the others talked about what had been going on while he was gone and the things he'd missed out on. Scott was glad no one asked him about the trial. He was relieved it was over, and he wanted to take some time away from thinking about the trial and Elaine it was nice to be able to relax with his friends for a while.

Between bites of cake Auggie asked, "So who's going to take care of the kid when your Dad's at work? Isn't Darien too young for day care?"

Scott took a swig of lemonade before saying, "Yes, he's too young. My Mom said she'll watch him when her schedule allows, but my aunt Kim will be the one watching him regularly, she's a stay at home mom."

Auggie asked, "didn't you say your cousin was two years younger than you?"

Scott smirked, "One of them is, I have four younger cousins, Max who's two years younger than me, Jill who's eleven, and the twins Marigold and Josephine who are eight."

Auggie whistled, "wow, that's a lot to handle."

Scott nodded, "I know, Dad said he'd hire a nanny, but aunt Kim wouldn't hear of it, and personally I'm glad that we won't be letting another strange person into our family. Uncle Jeff said he'd keep an eye on things, but he doesn't think it'll be an issue considering she's use to handling it."

Auggie said, "Must be nice to come from a rich family and not have to worry about child care."

Peter scowled, "Auggie."

Scott waved an arm, "It's o.k., Auggie my Dad was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he and my aunt were regular lower middle class kids. Dad got his degree and earned every sent. Uncle Jeff is an assistant chef, he wants to own his own restaurant someday. Aunt Kim has a degree in English and she worked as a book reviewer for a major newspaper until she got pregnant with Max. She was planning on going back after he was born, but maternity leave is usually less than a year and aunt Kim didn't want to leave him when he was so young. Then she had Sophie and the twins, she still does occasional work for the paper, she actually writes on activities and things for parents to do with their kids."

Auggie blinked a few times, "Oh sorry."

Everyone went back to eating and just let the comment pass as a moment of anger, all of the Cliffhangers knew that Auggie got a little snappy around wealthier people, it's why he and Scott hadn't got along well when Scott first came there. Auggie's mom had worked as a house cleaner for a wealthy family and Auggie was always upset that his mom didn't have as much time to be with him because she had to work.

After everyone had eaten Scott, Shelby, and Cat helped clean up while everyone else headed back to their dorms. The other Cliffhangers had offered to give a hand as well, but Peter said that they didn't need so many people. As he was taking out the trash Peter and Sophie took him aside, Sophie said, "Scott you'll have a new schedule with extra classes on parenting and such." Sophie handed Scott a revised schedule, he had two new classes, one on Thursday and one on Tuesday, the Tuesday one was a parenting class and the Thursday one taught nutrition, and basic household first aid.

Scott nodded, "alright."

Peter said, "Scott these classes also come with a lot of extra reading, if you're struggling or having trouble with the added load I want you to come and talk to us right away."

Scott said, "I promise I will."

Peter and Sophie talked to him for a few more minutes before Scott turned and walked back to the dorm with Shelby and Cat. Once they got to the girls dorm Cat went in and left Scott and Shelby standing together. Shelby took a deep breath, "Scott there's something I've been thinking about for a while now, but I wanted to wait until you came back to talk about it. I wanted to say it to your face."

Scott felt his stomach drop, his mind began to race, he was sure Shelby was going to dumb him again and he wasn't sure how he would handle that. Scott was determined not to break down or freak out. He took a deep steadying breath and stared Shelby in the eye, "I'm listening."

Shelby bit her lip, "I know things between us have been a little weird lately, I want you to know that I do still care about you and want to be with you, but I'm still not sure how I feel about being with someone who has a kid."

Scott sighed, "Shel, I love you, but I'm not asking you to marry me."

Shelby held up a hand, "Scott, all I'm saying is that I want to take this one day at a time and I don't want to rush into anything is that all right with you?"

Scott let out a breath he hadn't even known he'd been holding, he smiled, "Yeah, that's fine, I have no problem with it."

Shelby leant forward and the two of them kissed, Scott wrapped an arm around Shelby and held her close the two of them stood there together, Scott lost track of time. When they finally pulled away Scott said, "good night."

Shelby said, "good night." And turned to walk into the dorm.

Scott headed to his dorm and changed his clothes and brushed his teeth before lying down with a broad smile on his face. He wasn't sure what was going to happen next, but he knew that his son was safe and Elaine was exactly were she should be, for the first time in over three years Scott felt like everything was going to be all right and no matter what happened he'd be able to handle it.


	18. facing the past

Time seemed to fly by for Scott after he came back to Horizon, the additional classes were hard for him to handle at first, but with a little help from Peter and Sophie he adjust fairly well. Elaine had appealed the courts' decision, but she was denied and remained in jail. All in all things were going as well for Scott as they had since Elaine had first come into his life.

Now he was standing in the main room of Horizon waiting for his parents and Darien to arrive. It had been months since the trial ended and while Scott had kept in touched via phone calls and web cams he hadn't actually seen his son in person since the trial ended. Scott couldn't help the feeling of nervous excitement running through him as he waited for the cars to start pulling up. Not only was he seeing Darien today, but his parents were also going to be meeting Shelby for the first time.

The last family weekend at Horizon had been before Scott and Shelby had really gotten together and even though he'd told his parents about Shelby they hadn't had a chance to meet her until now. Scott nervously bit his lip worrying it between his teeth as he continued staring outside. A quiet chuckle came from behind him, "take it easy cowboy you'll put a hole through your lip if you keep doing that."

Scott smirked and relaxed his bite, "I'm just nervous."

Shelby playfully punched his arm, "How many times do I have to tell you calm down? If you keep this up you'll give yourself an ulcer or something."

Scott nodded as a familiar car pulled up, without waiting for his parents to get out he ran up to them with Shelby following behind snickering and shaking her head. Susan got out first pulling Scott into a hug as Martin turned off the car. Susan asked, "How are you?"

Scott pulled back to look her in the eye, "I'm doing better."

Susan nodded, "good."

Martin stood there leaning on the car, "Hey what about me?"

Scott walked over and hugged his dad then opened the door and smiled as he saw Darien sitting in his car seat, "Hey buddy did you miss me?" Scott carefully undid the buckles and lifted Darien out of the car, the baby yawned widely obviously just having woken from a nap. Darien blinked owlishly as he looked around whimpering slightly.

Scott shushed him, "Hey what's wrong? You know me."

Martin said, "He knows you, but he hasn't seen you in a while and this place is unfamiliar."

Scott nodded as he walked over to make the introductions, "Mom Dad I want you to meet my girlfriend Shelby Merrick. Shelby, this is my mom Susan Boyle, and you've already met my Dad."

Shelby shook both of their hands, "it's nice to meet you both."

Susan smiled broadly, "It's nice to meet you to."

Scott let out a breath he hadn't know he'd been holding when his mother simply shook Shelby's hand instead of pulling her in for a hug as she had done with other girls Scott had dated, hugging would have made Shelby uncomfortable and Scott embarrassed. Martin took the car seat out so they would be able to put Darien down if they needed to and the five of them walked into Horizon and went into the cafeteria to sit down and talk.

At first no one really knew what to say, Darien seemed to have decided that the buttons on Scott's shirt were there for his own personal amusement and was pulling on them giggling lightly. Scott turned to his parents and asked, "So how's Darien been doing?"

Martin shook his head, "Great, he's started trying to sit up on his own and he can roll over, he also loves playing with his toes and keeps putting everything and anything he can get his hands on in his mouth. Good thing I child proofed the house before bringing him home."

Susan cleared her throat and Martin blushed, "Well all right good thing I had your mother child proof the house before he came home."

Darien started sucking on one of Scott's buttons so he carefully pulled it out of his mouth, the button may have been sewn on, but Darien was strong and if he got it off he could choke. Shelby grinned, "Well aren't you just Mr. Mom?"

Scott blushed, "There are worse things to be accused of."

Shelby shrugged and Susan asked, "So, what are your plans for after graduation?"

Shelby looked a little surprised, but she thought about and after a few minutes said, "I'm not sure I know two years isn't that long, but it's hard to think of not being here, I'm not really sure what I want to do."

Martin said, "Well you could start college and just take some general classes see if anything jumps out at you that's what a lot of people do."

Shelby said, "It's something to think about."

Scott nodded, "I know Peter and Sophie have been talking to me about college as well, but I will have missed so much of Darien's life already." IT was something Scott had been thinking about a lot, but hadn't actually mentioned out loud until now (at least not in front of his parents).

Susan grabbed his hand, "Scott you don't have to go directly from Horizon to college a lot of young people take a year off before starting, but if you did that you'd have to find a job."

Scott sighed, "I know that." His parents were wealthy, but they wouldn't just let him sit around doing nothing. Martin continued, "You know even full time students usually have only one or two classes per day (sometime three depending on their schedule) you could have your aunt watch Darien during your classes and you could see him the rest of the day."

Scott gently bounced Darien up and down causing the baby to laugh as he said, "That might work."

Susan could obviously sense that the conversation was making the two teens uncomfortable and decided to change the subject, "So what are your favorite activities and classes here?"

Shelby said, "I like doing kayaking and some of the rowing as well, it's hard, but when you hit the rough waters it's really fun. My favorite class is probably social studies, we have a lot of debates in that class."

Scott interrupted her smirking, "And if there's one thing you like better than anything else it's arguing with people and not having to worry about getting reprimanded for it."

Shelby stuck her tongue out at him, but didn't say he was wrong Scott said, "Personally I like the obstacle course up in the trees (a/n I have no idea what those are really called). There's a zip line cargo net and a few tight rope like things. It's great, but the hardest part is when you're done and you have to get down there's this moment when you let go and just before the spotter takes your weight it always makes my stomach drop."

Shelby nodded, "I know, you know I heard Sophie say the same thing once and she's been doing that kind of stuff for years."

Martin said, "Shelby, Scott told me your little sister is here to."

Shelby nodded, "Yeah Jessie she's only 14, I would introduce you, but she's recovering."

Susan asked, "Recovering?"

Shelby clarified, "Yeah she just had her appendix taken out."

Susan jokingly said, "well if there's a problem I will be happy to be of service."

Scott chuckled and Darien started to fuss, "Uh, when did he last eat?"

Martin put the baby bag on the table, "a few hours ago so he is probably hungry."

Martin started to opened the bag, but the zipper stuck, Scott automatically stood to help before Darien gave a loud cry and reminded Scott that his arms were quite full.

To Scott's immense shock Shelby held out her arms, "Here I'll hold the little squirt."

Scott blinked a few times before carefully handing Darien over and going to help his Dad Susan smiled as she sat back down having stood to help, but not getting there in time. Martin got the zipper open, it had stuck on a piece of string sticking out of the bag that was attached to one of Darien's toys. Scott pulled out the bottle and took it to the kitchen to get it heated up by the time it was done Darien was screaming something fierce.

Scott ran over with the bottle, without even thinking Shelby took it from him and carefully gave it to the baby. Darien instantly started to suck Scott couldn't stop smiling as he watched Darien and Shelby together somehow it just felt right. As soon as Darien had finished Scott picked him up for to burp him it took a few pats, but eventually Darien gave a large belch. Scott was grateful for the wash cloth his Mom had handed him as he felt some spit up soaking it instead of his shirt.

Shelby giggled at him as Susan helped him get the rag off and settle Darien back down. The day went really well and Scott was sad to his family leave when it was over as he waved to the retreating car Shelby said, "Well that wasn't so bad."

Scott smirked, "Yeah for your first time meeting my parents it went great."

Shelby shot him a dirty look and Scott shrugged, Shelby had actually gotten along very well with Susan and Martin and she had held or helped care for Darien several times that day. They both knew that she was nowhere near being ready to take on a child full-time, but it was a good start.

That day was the first of many Susan and Martin brought Darien up for every family day afterwards and were always happy to see and talk to Scott and Shelby. Shelby introduced them to Jessie as soon as possible and the six of them spent a lot of time together. Scott felt like Jessie and Shelby had become a part of the family and when it was time for them to leave Horizon Shelby was offered one of the spare rooms in Martin's home which she happily accepted.

That was nearly 16 years ago Scott was now standing in the kitchen of his own home and looking fairly upset. A moment later the door swung open and Shelby walked in. Scott instantly tried to put on a relaxed expression, but he should have known better. He had never been able to fool Shelby and after being married for nearly 12 years it was even harder the second she saw him she asked, "What's wrong?"

Scott sighed heavily, "I just got off the phone with Henry Walters." Scott had remained good friends with Henry even after the trial, in fact Henry had helped Scott get into law school and start his own career as a lawyer specializing in child advocacy cases, Scott wanted to do everything in his power to make sure what happened to him never happened to anyone else.

Shelby starred at him and said, "And?"

Scott bit his lip, "Elaine is being released from prison next month."

Shelby's mouth fell open, "What? How? I thought you said the judge gave her 25 years."

Scott shook his head, "25 years max, apparently she's getting out on good behavior and she has to register as a sex offender, but this does bring up a problem."

Shelby instantly sat on a nearby stool, "We'll have to tell Darien."

Scott nodded, Darien had always known that Shelby was not his biological mother, though she had helped Scott raise him since they both left Horizon, but they had never told him about Elaine. All Scott had ever said about her was that she was sick and lived far away. It had been enough when Darien was younger and as he got older he could tell that his Dad was reluctant to talk about the subject so he had simply stopped asking.

Shelby grabbed Scott's hand, "You knew this day would come."

Scott nodded, "I know, I think I'll make an appointment with a family counselor it might be easier to do this if we have professional help."

Shelby thought about it and said, "Yeah I think that makes sense it also might be easier for Darien if he has someone else he can talk to about this besides us. It's not like he's going to just accept it and move along with his life in a few days."

Scott sighed, 'Well at least we both know the signs if he starts doing drugs or something."

"Scott!" Shelby snapped at him.

Scott said, "Sorry, I know Darien wouldn't do that, it's just this is all so much."

"What's all so much?"

They both turned to see their son standing the kitchen with a bag slung over his shoulder. Darien was as tall as Scott with dark somewhat curly hair and the same mischievous eyes his Dad had when he was younger. Like Scott Darien was a proficient athlete, but he had taken to soccer rather than football, he had obviously just returned from practice as there was still a sheen of sweat on his forehead.

Scott said, "Darien your mom and I want to set up a family therapy session with a professional."

Darien raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

Scott said, "There's something we need to tell you, but it might be better if we had some professional help."

Darien's eyes widened, "Is someone sick? Is it me?"

Shelby instantly stood, "No, no one is sick no one is dying we are not moving or getting a divorce."

Scott smirked Shelby was just as good at knowing what their son was thinking as she was at knowing what Scott was thinking.

Darien asked, "Then why do you want us to go through therapy?"

Scott stood and walked towards his son looking him straight in the eye, "Because we need to tell you about your biological mother."

Darien's eyes widened and his mouth gapped it was clear that whatever he was thinking it hadn't been that Scott pressed on, "I can't tell you all of it now, I'm not sure if you would even believe me, but you should know that none of it will be easy to hear and we think it would be better if there were someone else there you could talk to."

Darien looked thoroughly confused, "Why? Dad come on whatever the truth is it can't be any worse than the stuff I'm imagining right now. What is my mother some psycho serial killer who tortured and murdered people then ate their guts like Jeffery Dahmer or something?

Scott snorted, "Well no, but that doesn't mean this will be any easier to hear."

Dairen could obviously sense Scott's weakness in the area so he pushed, "come on Dad just tell me."

Scott shook his head, "Trust me when the time comes you'll be grateful I waited." Without letting Darien say another word Scott picked up the phone and called a local counseling center to make an appointment for the next day. Because of his work he interacted a lot with these types of places and knew which ones were the best for their situation and which therapist to ask for.

None of them slept well that night and the next morning they drove the center in a tense silence. The therapist they were seeing was Doctor Jasmine Tull she was a small woman with dark hair and honey colored skin. Scott knew her fairly well and hoped she would be able to help. They were lead to her office which was a large open space with sky blue walls and black flower stencils. Jasmine sat at a chair and gestured them to each take their own seat on a large squashy arm chair. As soon as they sat Jasmine said, "All right Scott why don't you start?"

Scott could tell that Darien was frustrated and a little annoyed at being dragged to a shrink, but Scott knew this was best for everyone, "Darien, your mother. Your mother is not a good woman."

Darien gave him a look, "Dad I kinda figured that out for myself when you refused to talk about her at all ever."

Shelby said, "Darien just let your dad talk this isn't easy for him."

As usual Shelby was right, Scott had made his piece with Elaine and his past, but dredging it all up again to tell his son was not going to be easy, "Darien when I was 14 your grandparents divorced not long after that your grandpa began seeing another woman Elaine Mitchell. Naturally, I wasn't too happy, but I decided that for my Dad's sake I would try to at least get to know her. She was all right at first, but then she and your grandfather got married and."

Scott swallowed and Jasmine said, "Take your time Scott."

Scott nodded, "Things went badly after the wedding. Elaine started making sexual advances towards me."

Darien instantly sat up in his chair, "What? That's disgusting."

Scott nodded, "Yeah I wasn't too thrilled at the time either, eventually she started coming into my bed at night. WE, we had sex several times. I never wanted to be with her, but she said that if I told anyone they would never believe me or she would tell them I had been the one raping her and my Dad would send me away. Elaine was very persuasive and I was young and confused so I didn't say anything. Elaine kept coming into my room a lot and it started to affect me, my grades instantly fell I started drinking and doing drugs I was going down and I was going down hard. Then my dad did what was probably the best thing he could have done and sent me to Horizon."

Darien had know his father had had drug problems when he was younger and about him going to Horizon, but he had no idea that this was why. Too shocked to speak he just sat there listening. He had an idea of where this story was going, but he hoped he was wrong. Scott grabbed Shelby's hand, "I was eventually able to tell my Dad the truth and he did leave Elaine, but there was a problem she was pregnant so Dad sued for custody. We weren't sure what would happen then Elaine gave birth, she gave birth to you."

Darien's face went complete white he shook his head in shock and couldn't think of anything to say. Scott swallowed hard he knew this would be hard, but Darien looked sick to his stomach. Jasmine instantly took control, "Darien, do you understand what your father has just said,"

Darien fought the urge to vomit and asked, "Why? Why now?"

Scott said, "Elaine is being released from prison soon, the judge gave her 15-25 years she's been in there 16 the decided to let her out now based on 'good behavior' she might try to see you or get in contact with you she has before."

Darien looked up, "What? When?"

Scott explained, "she tried to get visitation rights several times, but because I was given full custody and she was in prison they were all denied you're old enough to make the decision yourself so if you say you don't want to see her a judge or social worker will probably leave it at that, but she will probably try to see you or get in touch with you and I thought it was better if you heard this from me instead of someone else."

Darien sat there staring out the window, after a few moments Scott leaned over and grabbed his shoulder. This one action seemed to trigger a small explosion. Darien instantly shoved his father away and stood shouting, "Why the hell didn't you tell me this before damn it?! I had a right to know!"

Scott and other adults didn't say anything they all knew Darien needed to vent a little before he was ready to really discuss this, "All these years I've wondered about my birth mother I thought maybe you two had had some kind of fight or maybe she abandoned us and that's why you never wanted to talk about her, but this! You are telling me that my mother is a rapist that that is who I am."

Scott instantly stood, "No, that is not who you are it's just where you came from."

Darien snapped, "What the hell's the difference?"

Shelby stood, "Darien, you know I was sexually abused as well and that when I ran away I became a prostitute. I lived on the streets hustling for a long time before I got into Horizon. Does that still make me a whore?"

Darien deflated a little, "No, but Mom it's not the same thing."

Jasmine decided it was time she stepped in, "You're right Darien it isn't the same thing. What your parents went through is different than what you are now facing. I'm not saying it's better or worse it's just different and it's going to take you some time to accept it and move on. It won't be easy, but that's why I'm here. Now will you please sit back down."

Darien blushed slightly as he took his seat, "This is just, it's a lot I'm not really sure what to do or say."

Jasmine instantly took over, "That's normal you've just had a major shock and it's going to take you some time to process it. Why don't we start by having your parents answer some of your questions?"

Darien turned and asked, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Shelby answered first, "We both discussed it and agreed we wanted to wait until we thought you were old enough to handle it. Then it just never seemed like the right time."

Scott nodded and began to elaborate, "I was hoping this day would never come, I knew it would have to, but I was hoping you wouldn't have to face this."

Darien gapped, "so if she hadn't gotten out of prison you just would have gone forever without telling me the truth? Great that makes me feel so much better it really does." You could practically see the sarcasm in that last statement.

Jasmine interjected, "Scott, Darien has a good point. This was something that had to come out sooner or later."

Scott nodded, "I know, I know, I just was hoping you would never have to deal with it. Elaine is sick, and I wanted you to stay as far away from her as possible. I didn't avoid telling you because I was scared or trying to be cruel I just wanted to protect you."

Darien sighed heavily, "I understand that, but I had a right to know."

Shelby said, "We know you do and we probably should have told you sooner, but for better or worse it's out now the question is what will you do?"

Darien shook his head, "I don't know."

Jasmine asked, "How do you feel about this?"

Darien said, "I'm angry and confused and a hundred other things I can't really explain."

Jasmine said, "That's normal, this isn't going to be easy, but we're all here for you."

Scott said, "Darien if you do decided you want to meet Elaine I promise you're mom and I will respect that choice. Just promise me that you will not go alone."

Darien raised an eyebrow, "Who would go with me?"

Scott swallowed and fought the bile rising in his throat as he said, "I will."

Shelby starred at him, "Scott are you sure that's a good idea?"

Scott said, "I made my peace with my past a long time ago, and I'll be honest I don't want to see Elaine again, but I don't want Darien going alone and I sure as hell won't ask someone else to do something I won't do myself."

Jasmine nodded, "I think that's a great place to start from."

Darien looked completely shocked, he certainly hadn't expected to hear that. After learning what his father had been through he'd half expected him to run as far from Elaine as he possibly could not willingly volunteer to take Darien to meet her. Daren starred, "you would do that?"

Scott gave him a knowing look, "you need to ask?"

Darien felt some of the anger start to wear off, it would be a while before he completely accepted this, but he was on the right path.

a/n o.k I know this took a while, but this is one of the longer chaps in this story and it covers a lot next chap Darien makes his decisions (any opinions should he say Elaine? Yes or no? That will probably be the final chap for this story. I don't think I'll do a sequel. Please review.)


	19. Last confrontation

Darien stood in his backyard staring at the horizon, it had been a few days sense his parents had hit him with the harsh truth about his biological mother and he still didn't know what he was going to do. He was angry at his parents for keeping this form him for so long and a part of him wanted to see Elaine just because he knew it would bother them, but he knew that wasn't the right way to handle this situation. He and Jasmine had talked one on one for over an hour in during therapy and while he was still angry she had helped him understand that hurting his parents wouldn't do anyone any good. Still, Darien knew it would take a lot of time to heal this damage, and he really didn't know what to do about everything.

His Dad had been right about Elaine, she had petitioned a social worker to speak to Darien about her and possibly set up a meeting of some kind between the two of them. Darien was not sure how he felt about this or what he wanted to do. Everything was happening so fast he felt like he'd been throw onto one of those spinning rides at the fair and it had started before he'd gotten the chance to buckle his seat belt. Now he was stuck being spun from one corner to the next.

As he starred out at the sky he wondered, what was Elaine really like? Did he want to see her? How could he even look at her after what she'd done? Mother or no mother she was still a criminal and if what his Dad had told him was true Darien wanted to stay as far away from her as possible, but still he couldn't help wondering was there more to her then what he'd been told? Darien threw his head back and sighed, "Why does it have to be so hard?"

He jumped when a familiar voice answered him, "Because that's life."

Darien turned to see his Dad standing just inside the doorway, his arms were crossed in front of his chest and he was leaning against the door jam. Darien couldn't help smirking a little as Scott continued, "Growing up means having to face a lot of things and none of them are ever easy. Our situation is certainly unique, but everyone has to deal with things and make difficult choices whether they want to or not."

Darien looked around, "Where's the music?"

Scott raised an eyebrow, "what?"

Darien turned to him smirking, "Well in television shows and movies this is always the scene when they start playing that same music you know the sort of low melodic stuff that reminds you of green acres?"

Scott burst out laughing, "Darien, there are times when you remind me so much of myself when I was a kid that it actually scares me."

Darien shrugged as they headed inside, tomorrow was going to be a very long day.

Hghghghghghghhg

Darien did not sleep well that night and the next morning he couldn't help feeling anxious and angry as they drove to their next therapy session. Jasmine had said she wanted to some more one on one with Darien before bringing his parents back into it. Darien was actually a little relieved felt like he'd talked about this situation with his mom and a thousand times in the last few days and he honestly felt like he needed another person's perspective on it.

Darien knew there was no way he could possibly talk about this with any of his friends. He was pretty sure that most of them would react the same way he had to finding out the truth about his mother. Some might even take it worse than he did, and the last thing he needed was for this information to end up spreading through the school like a wild fire, which he knew it would if he told anyone.

What's more Darien couldn't see any of his friends really understanding his situation they all lived in nice homes and came from nice families and he didn't think anyone could really understand what it was like being connected to someone who had done such awful things. Still, he could be wrong, after all while most people knew the truth about his mom and Dad's past no one knew about Elaine and it was possible there were other people he knew, or even some he didn't who had gone through things like this.

Darien put his head back and sighed heavily as his Dad pulled into the parking lot, he didn't say much as they checked in and sat in the waiting room. Finally Jasmine called him in and Darien walked in feeling like he had a million thoughts buzzing through his head and no idea where to start with any of them.

Darien sat down as Jasmine finished placing some paperwork in her file cabinet, as she turned she asked, "So is there anything you would like to get off your chest right off the bat?"

Darien nodded, "Hell yes, but I don't even know where to start. It feels like my brain keeps spinning around and won't stop long enough for me to get my bearings if that makes any sense."

Jasmine smiled, "It does make sense. You've had a lot thrown at you in the last few days and it's natural that you would be confuse that's why I'm here."

Darien tried to organize his thoughts, "I don't really know how I feel about all of this I'm angry that my mom and dad kept the truth from me for so long and frustrated that I now have all these new issues to deal with, but I don't know how I feel about her. Do I want to see her or not? I don't know."

Jasmine said, "Well this isn't a decision you make overnight it's something you have to take time and consider it could be months before you know which way you want to go."

Darien instantly asked something that had been worrying him for a while, "But what happens if she contacts me? What happens if she writes me a letter or comes to see me at school one day? I don't know how I'd handle all of that. I don't think I could take just having her thrown at me again. Dad and Henry both said that contacting me without permission would be a violation of her parole, but who's to say she wouldn't do it anyways? Maybe she'd think she could get away with it? Or maybe she'd be so desperate to see me she just wouldn't care."

Jasmine nodded, "It's certainly possible Elaine might do that. The question is how would you react?"

Darien sat up, "Huh?"

Jasmine gave a small smile, "Darien you can not control anything that anyone else does. Not Elaine not your parents not anyone, but you can control how you react to others and how you let their actions affect you. So you have to ask yourself what do you want?"

Darien ran a hand through his hair, "that's just the problem. Like I told you I don't know."

Jasmine said, "o.k. well obviously your confused, but do you have any solid feelings towards Elaine right now anything at all?"

Darien bit his lip, "Mostly I'm angry, angry my parents didn't tell me sooner, angry I have to deal with this, and especially angry for what she did. Why should I want to see her after what she did to Dad?"

"well she is your mother." Jasmine pointed out.

Darien snorted, "No she's not, she gave birth to me, but she's not my mother. Mom is, she's the one who was there when I needed to talk to someone about stuff I didn't want to talk to Dad about. She's the one who taught me how to swim and took care of me when I had the chicken pox. She's my mother and nothing anyone says or does will change that."

Jasmine raised an eyebrow, "It sounds like you've already made up your mind about all of this."

Darien opened his mouth and closed it again, Jasmine must have somehow sensed how he'd felt, but realized he needed to admit it to himself so instead of just giving him an answer, which is what he had been expecting, she guided him towards realizing he already knew the answer. Darien scowled at her, "How'd you know?"

Jasmine shrugged, "I didn't, but I knew that if I pointed a few things out you might realize the truth yourself and so you have."

Darien took a deep breath and said, "I don't want to see her, but I'm worried about her trying to see me."

Jasmine nodded, "I won't lie to you and say that is not a possibility because unfortunately it is. Even if your parents got a court order forbidding Elaine from contacting you she could still violate the order and come to see you anyways."

Darien bit his lip, "And I think that's what's really bothering me. What am I supposed to do if I see her? Should I just walk away? Should I talk to her and hope my saying 'leave me alone' will be enough? Should I tell anyone if she tries to get in touch with me?"

Jasmine said, "Yes, you should tell someone if she contacts you in any way, you have to remember Darien Elaine is a dangerous person and she could come after you. She might even try to kidnap you."

Darien paled as his stomach churned. Jasmine sighed and grabbed his hand, "I don't mean to scare you, but I think it's important that you know the truth and do everything you can to prepare yourself for any possible encounter."

Darien nodded, "So what should I do?"

Jasmine smirked, "Darien, remember the only reason Elaine was able to assault your father was because she convinced him no one would believe him. You know it isn't true. You are twice her size and she is a convicted felon if she comes after you fight back. Yell scream kick punch, I know your parents probably taught you not to hit a woman…."

"Actually" Darien interrupted, "My parents taught me that abusing women or using violence to solve a conflict is not right, but if I'm ever in a situation where I am in serious danger than it is o.k. to use brute force to try and get out of it. Even if I am up against a woman. Actually now that I think about it Dad's experience is probably why he told me that."

Jasmine smiled and nodded, "Well they were right. If you see Elaine try to walk away and report it if that doesn't work do what you can to fight her off and call for help. I won't tell you something of that nature isn't going to happen because I would be lying if I did, but it might not end up being as bad as you're imagining. Remember we usually think up the worst case scenarios when thinking of an upcoming conflict. In many cases people often blow things massively out of proportion. I'm not saying you should just go along and not think about Elaine at all, but if you let your fear of her rule your life than she wins."

Darien nodded, "I understand thanks doc."

Jasmine stood, "It's why I get paid so much."

Darien chuckled as she went to get his parents. The session ended up going much better than their first. Darien was still angry, but he felt like he was getting to the point where he understood why his parents hadn't said anything sooner and it made him less angry to think about it. Jasmine said it was a good step towards acceptance and with a little more time and support they would work their problems out.

As soon as therapy was over Darien decided to tell his parents about the decision he'd made, "I don't want to see Elaine."

Scott grabbed his shoulder, "Are you sure? I don't want you to pick the decision you think your mother and I want you to make or not see her because you're afraid we'll get upset or feel disappointed. This is your choice and yours alone."

Darien nodded, "I know, and I'm choosing not to see her."

Scott said, "all right, I've got some papers you can sign and that should be all."

Shelby came up and wrapped and arm around both of them. Darien knew it was corny and a little embarrassing to do this in public, but he really didn't care. He wrapped his arms around both of his parents and the three of them just stood there for a while comforting each other.

Scott called Henry and he agreed to witness the signing on Monday. The weekend passed quickly, Darien had soccer practice on Saturday and used it as a way to vent his feelings. When he got home that night he was worn out and feeling like he had a weight lifted off his chest. Signing the paper on Monday morning was much easier than Darien had thought. It was a simple afidavid, because he was 16 he was considered old enough to make up his own mind about the situation and so all he had to do was sign on the line after speaking privately with Henry and assuring Henry that he hadn't been coerced or threatened into making a decision he disagreed with.

Darien felt an immense relief as he signed the papers, he knew this wasn't the end of things not by a long short, but somehow making it official made him feel a little better as though a part of this whole crazy situation were being put to rest.

The next few days passed quickly for Darien and as he began getting back into his regular routine and spending more time with his friends he felt like things were finally beginning to settle. Then of course everything changed one late afternoon.

Darien had soccer practice after school every Thursday it had been two weeks since he'd signed the papers and to everyone's shock they hadn't seen or heard from Elaine. Darien wasn't stupid enough to let his guard down completely, but he felt like it was a good sign and a step in the right direction.

Darien was just packing his things up to go in and shower when everything changed a voice called form behind him, "You're good."

Darien didn't recognize the woman, but he was used to girls and teachers at school talking to him about how he played. He said, "Thanks" As he finished zipping up his bag and stood.

The woman continued, "You've got an incredible athletic ability just like your father."

Darien blinked, not a lot of people knew about his dad playing football. Scott had loved it and continued playing once he got into college, but he hadn't been good enough to go pro and most people didn't know much about his career. Darien stiffened and turned around, the sun was starting to set, but even in the dimming light he recognized the woman standing in front of him. His parents had shown him photos, she had dark hair and paled skin, Darien felt his stomach drop as he thought, _I look like her_.

He stepped back, "You."

She smiled and tried to take a step towards him, but he said, "stop right there"

Darien was incredibly shocked when Elaine stopped moving, she held her hands up in mock surrender and said in a falsely reassuring voice, "Darien, you have nothing to fear from me you are my son and I would never heart you."

Darien's face darkened, "Just like you'd never hurt my Dad?"

Elaine shook her head, "You don't understand Darien, you've only heard Scotty's side of the story. You see Darien your father was a very attractive young man and no matter what he said in court he was just as happy with our relationship as I was. It wasn't until later when he was afraid to admit the truth to everyone that he claimed rape."

Darien shook his head, "that's not true."

Elaine shook her head sadly as though disappointed Darien would not consider her version of 'the truth' and continued, "He was not a victim and neither was I. You were conceived in love."

Darien felt sick, "Look I'm warning you leave me and my family alone or I'll report you."

Elaine smiled again, "But I am you're family I'm your mother."

Darien stiffened, "No you're not, my mother is the woman who spent hours helping me with my math homework. My mother is the one who's come to all my soccer games and practices, who drove me to everyone and has pictures of me all over the fridge and everywhere else in the house. My mother is Shelby Barringer and she's all the mother I've got!"

He was shouting, but he didn't care. A part of Darien hoped someone would hear this and come see what was going on. Where the hell had the coach and other players disappeared to? Darien figured Elaine must've waited until everyone started walking back in before talking to him.

Elaine looked angry she stepped forward and grabbed Darien's right arm hard, "Listen to me you are my son and I want to get to know you."

Darien jerked, "well I don't want to know you. Now let go!"

Elaine pulled back, "Listen to me you need to listen"

Without thinking it through Darien shouted, "NO!" then he slammed his left arm forward and felt it connect with Elaine's nose which broke with a sickening crack. Elaine screamed a Darien pulled back and ran inside the school.

Darien ran straight for the locker room where his coach was standing, "Whoa Barringer where's the fire!"

Darien gasped, "Sir, I need you to call the police Elaine was just here."

Darien's coach and teachers had all been told about the situation in case something happened. Without needing further explanation the coach turned and headed upstairs to the office to phone the police and Scott and Shelby. Darien had been planning on riding home with his friend Alex who'd just gotten his drivers' license so they weren't coming to pick him up before hand. As they waited for the police Darien couldn't help but wonder if Elaine had known this somehow or if she'd simply gotten lucky and happened to show up today.

Darien sat down in the closest chair he could find and took some deep breaths, he knew it was the shock of what had happened more than the strain of running from the soccer field to the locker room on the other side of the school that had worn him out. Darien's coach, Thomas Prince, a tall man with wild red hair, sat down next to him a put a hand on his shoulder, "Want to talk about it?"

Darien shook his head, "I'll wait until the cops get here I don't want to say it more than once."

Coach Prince sighed, "I'm sorry, I shoulda stayed out there with you."

Darien shook his head, "she woulda just found another way, besides I was only a few feet behind you when she showed up and there's no way you coulda known, you had to look out for everyone not just me and the rest of the team was inside. It's not like it's the first time I've walked in from practice alone."

Before Coach Prince could answer several sirens came blaring from outside of the school, Coach Prince as two police officers walked into the room. One was a woman about average height with blonde hair and green eyes who looked a little like Shelby, the other was a tall man with black hair and brown eyes. The man spoke first, "I'm officer Jeffries and this is my partner office O'Brien can you tell us what happened?"

Darien sighed, "I was packing my bag up after practice when this woman came up to me, at first I thought she was just a fan, but then she started talking about my Dad and when I turned and saw her I knew who she was. I told her to go away, but she kept talking about how she was my mother and she wanted me to hear her side of the story and stuff like that. I kept telling her to leave, but she wouldn't finally she grabbed my arm. I tried to pull away, but she just gripped it harder. I punched her in the face and broke her nose then I ran for it."

Officer Jeffries nodded while Officer O'Brien took notes. Officer Jeffries asked, "Can you show me where she grabbed you? We need to see if there's any bruising or other injuries."

Darien rolled held his right arm out so they could see it, he was still in his short sleeved jersey so there was no reason to roll his shirt up, "She grabbed me right here half way between my wrist and elbow."

Officer Jeffries gently took Darien's arm and looked closely, "Looks like there's a little bruising starting."

Darien looked down surprised, he hadn't realized she'd been holding him tight enough to bruise. Officer O'Brien took a few pictures and said, "We've got police canvassing the neighborhood if she's still around we'll find her."

Darien tried to give her a grateful smile, but was fairly certain he just looked sick. Just as the police finished with the photos his parents came running in. Darien actually had to fight the urge to laugh, his Mom was wearing her sweat pants and T-shirt from the gym and only one shoe while his Dad had his suit jacket on backwards and his hair was sticking up like he'd been running his hands through it for a while.

They both ran up to him shouting his name and pulling him into a hug Darien held them and said, "I'm alright she didn't hurt me, I'm alright."

Scott looked at him, "Darien even talking to you without permission or another person present was a violation of Elaine's parole she's going back to jail once the police find her. I swear."

Shelby said, "And if she does manage to get out I'll hunt her down and tear her to pieces myself."

Scott grinned, "I'll hold her down for you."

Darien just sat there, he felt like he needed some time to compile what had happened. Officer Jeffries spoke up causing Darien to jerk, he had forgotten they were there, "Mr. and Mrs. Barringer we have Ms. Mason in custody you'll need to come to the station to file a formal report, but first I think we should take your son to the hospital. His injury isn't serious, but it's better to be safe than sorry and we should have a medical professional document it."

Scott and Shelby both nodded, Officer O'Brien escorted them out to the squad car and drove to the hospital the doctor on call looked Darien over and said there weren't any broken blood vessels or anything serious. He gave Darien some aspirin for the pain and told him to come back if he found it hard to move his arm or if the pain got worse. The police station was fairly quick, they had Darien write his statement out and sign it. Apparently Elaine was trying to deny she'd seen him, but that didn't work so well because she had no plausible explanation for her nose. As Officer O'Brien drove them back to school to get Scott and Shelby's cars Scott asked, 'You really broke her nose?"

Darien grinned cheekily at him, "Yes."

Scott ruffled his hair, "That's my boy."

Shelby smirked, "you did the right thing Darien and we're both proud of you."

Darien leaned back in the car and relaxed. Elaine was charged with parole violation and assault of a minor she was sent back to jail with an extra two years for assault. Scott filed a restraining order against her and when Elaine was next released she'd be fitted with a tracking bracelet to make sure she didn't go near Darien. Jasmine and his parents helped Darien deal with what had happened and he slowly adjusted to the new changes in his life. Darien continued to play soccer and hang out with his friends he wasn't going to let Elaine win by keeping him from doing what he loved. It had been a hard crazy experience, and Darien was glad to let it go. Elaine had never been and would never be a part of his life and no matter what she did he would never let her be and somehow he knew that everything was going to be o.k.

The end

A/n so what did you think? One person said I should have Darien meet Elaine and one said no so I had him meet her against his will to please everyone.


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